Mahou Sensei Kain! Act 18!
by Chris-Sasami-Bunny
Summary: It's time to get done with some unfinished business. Namely, taking care of Nagi. And who can help Kain accomplish that? Sakura perhaps? Read to find out what happens as this epic adventure begins to resolve itself.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Prologue

Duali poured over his equipment, setting up the devices, double-checking his meters, screwing his items together and running his tests. "An opportunity beyond anything we could have expected," he explained to no one in particular; perhaps his butler, although it was pointless, because the magical spirit either understood what he said and did without effort or it was beyond his ability to understand his master's human desires. Either way, the explanation never helped Jarvis, but going over his eccentric ideas out loud helped Duali's mental state; or not, perhaps, but at least it kept him satisfied.

"The Obsidian Star tried to destroy our worlds and build a world of perfect magic out of the ashes. That would have been a marvelous sight in and of itself, but, alas, would have almost certainly have resulted in my demise. It is therefore, I suppose, fortunate that they were vanquished and defeated. But their work has left the worlds in dire straits—the seven worlds of our Reality Sphere are already coming within sight of each other. But that dear boy Kain Lockeheart has a plan to save them all by spreading that magic throughout the worlds. The net result will be, eventually, seven worlds of rather equal magic, within relatively equal 'distance' of each other. And thus, these other five worlds, which the greater portion of even the greatest mages of our two worlds are unaware of, will be within our influence as well, so that they can be visited…a wonderful theory to try later, but for now, we may be satisfied simply in seeing them.

"Therefore, my World Viewer will enable me to see beyond the veils between the worlds. Voilà!" He stared with satisfaction at his (completed) rather telescope-like device, about the size of a large van.

"Marvelous," Jarvis said loyally. "It is a masterpiece, sir."

"Of course it is, of course it is," Duali muttered, rubbing his hands together. "Now, after lunch, we shall…."

A loud alarm began blaring and fire seemed to streak all along the walls, creating an inferno that circumscribed the room and surrounded them. Duali glanced around in alarm. "Oh, dear…." And then the black null-space yawned open, and Nagi Homura stepped through.

Master and butler stared at the boy as he looked around the room. "Nice place," he murmured with a smile. "It's too bad I don't really have time to investigate it fully." He focused on the master. "Mage-Inventor Duali, I presume."

Jarvis began to raise a hand into some form of attack posture, but Duali raised his own hand to forestall his servant. "You have found him. Homura Nagi, creature of the Obsidian Star. I thought that all your kind had disappeared with the final expiration of your Prince and your world."

Nagi chuckled. "Yes…all the rest did, but because of my work in Hueco Mundo, I managed to bind my essence there, so I have not yet pushed off this immortal coil. I'm all alone, though…and that's a big problem. Enough with the pleasantries. I'm here because I want the Essence-Thief."

Duali narrowed his eyes at the demon-boy. "And why should I give such a dangerous item to you?"

"Well…I would assume because you don't want to die." Red-black energy began to pulse off of the boy and tendrils of black began to spread across the floor from under Nagi's feet. "That's always a good, basic kind of reason for capitulating to terrible demands."

Energy began to flare off of Jarvis in response, but again Duali raised his hand to forestall his servant. "Threats like that should be carefully thought out," he murmured. "Certainly you have to power to kill me, even with Jarvis running interference, but you would not get out of here alive. Upon my death, this tower is programmed and designed to seal itself off and immediately collapse in on itself, destroying all and everything herein. I have studied any and all of the planes associated with our mortal world, including the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo; even you could use neither the Garganta nor Negación to escape that death trap. You made it in, but you will not make it out. Nor can you take the item out without my permission; in summary, you have no cards to bluff with. I have no reason to capitulate to your terrible demands."

"On the contrary," Nagi said, still smirking. "It's not a bluff when you have nothing to lose. Without the Essence-Thief, I am all but dead anyway; my world is gone, and nothing else could possibly bring it back. So if I can't have it, I'll simply die and take you with me. There is nothing else for me, after all. On the other hand, are _you_ willing to give your life to keep it from me? We've already agreed that these are the two outcomes. You're the only one with a decision; I've made mine. So, what will it be?"

Duali stared for a good long time at the inhuman boy. Finally, without emotion, he said, "Jarvis, go retrieve the Essence-Thief and give it to the creature, then send it on its way."

"Of course, sir." Jarvis, also without emotion, finally cancelled his threatening stance and began a businesslike walk down the stairs.

"You made a wise decision," Nagi smirked, following the spirit-butler.

Duali turned away, brooding, while his servant delivered the item. Less than a minute later the butler reappeared in his chamber, while all the presence of Nagi was gone. The phantom flame enshrouding the room cut off as soon as the dark demon had left. "Are you certain about this, sir?" Jarvis asked his master. "A being such as that can cause great chaos with such an item."

"There is only one target he could be seeking to eliminate with it," Duali replied airily. "But he will not go quietly into the void, even with that power; he is beyond humanity himself, after all. Perhaps I am a coward, but I see no reason to give my life uselessly over one broken creature. The odds of his failure are over 90%, and the extra-dimensional interest in the boy that I can't account for likely puts those odds even higher. I regret the loss of it, but perhaps it's for the best that it goes, after all. One way or another, this will close the chapter on that situation." Then he suddenly went to his telescope and began to prepare the World Viewer to start viewing some worlds.

Jarvis raised an eyebrow. "What about lunch, sir?"

"I find I've rather lost my appetite," Duali replied. "I've finished it, so I might as well start putting it to use. After all, however unlikely, there is a chance I might never again get the chance."

"Very good, sir."

"Make sure that I'm absolutely not bothered for, oh, at least another four or five months," he continued.

"Of course, sir. Initiating 'Do Not Disturb'."

F I N

 _Author's Note: Nagi's Plot_

 _So, Nagi reappears to try one last…._

 _What? Do Not Disturb? You really want to know about that? It just seals the tower off from all other dimensions, travel-wise, all right? Nothing really special about it._

 _Anyway._

 _Nagi has finally shown his face, using one particular item to try and make things go his way. This Act is all about this plot of his and how Kain has to deal with it. It was appropriate to show this to introduce the Act, since pretty much the entirety going forward will be from Kain's baffled point of view._

 _Duali gave up the dangerous relic without a fight, simply because he doesn't want to sacrifice himself to kill one nasty demon-boy. Maybe it's cowardly of him, but not everyone can be that kind of hero. Duali isn't. He certainly isn't evil, but he's not necessarily all that good, either; he's a good example of a True Neutral character, the way I've generally envisioned them: disliking Evil because it causes problems and favoring what Good brings, but not being particularly dedicated to sticking his neck out to make it happen. Balance, schmalance; just take care of yourself and don't bother others._

 _Anyway, let's move on to starting this adventure up…._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter One: Broken Destiny

Christmas Eve, Sendai, Japan.

Kain stepped back through the portal and into the basement that housed the Gate. "That was quick," Hokuro, the senior Gate technician, informed him in surprise. "Umm, they aren't supposed to align that quickly…is that a side effect of the disaster…?"

"I cheated a little," Kain said with a grin, brushing at his cloak. "But while it's nice over there, I didn't intend to spend my Christmas in Arcanus Myrror. But you are right, it is partially a 'side effect' of the disaster. I had to make sure everything aligned right, and with that first opening, there was a window for me to use this to return…."

"Right…the Cloak of Rashira does some crazy things. I should have expected as much; we basically had to wrench all the Gates the world over into alignment at the same time to restart the connection process properly. You know, the old fogeys have insisted the Gates are fine for years and years, but they're centuries old, and MagiTech has come a long way; we should be able to build more reliable portals now if we just worked on it…."

"I don't disagree," Kain replied. "If you have ideas, get to work on 'em, and don't worry about rejections; with the situation as it is now, as it's becoming, I'm sure even the worst of the 'old fogeys' will be willing to listen to anything that could improve communication and travel."

"So it's really happening?" asked the female tech, Hinata. "This world, too…becoming a world of magic…."

"That's still confidential," Kain replied with a wink, putting a finger to his lips. "Don't go blabbing it. In any case, thank you all for your help; I hate to run, but I really should be getting back to my day job…."

"Ha! Day job," snickered another tech, Mokuba. "It's Christmas vacation; a teacher really doesn't have any work!"

"Do you have a girlfriend waiting for you back at Mahora?" asked Hinata with interest.

Kain laughed. "I wish; but that's an idea that's still too dangerous for even me to face." The five techs in the room shared a confused look, but Kain waved away the thought. "Anyway, I should be going. Thanks again for everything."

He received their farewells and made his way to the elevator that ran up to the surface. He entered it and began the slow climb back to the surface, reflecting triumphantly on his work. It was done, the first part, anyway; normal travel between the two worlds, on time and regular, had been resumed. The wall between them that had weakened dangerously had not been repaired, per say, but it had been spread out so it was foundationally sound, if not as thick and imposing. In other words, an equalizing mana leak between Earth and Arcanus Myrror had already begun. No, not just between those two; the other five worlds were already within shouting distance as well, and they, too, would start giving and receiving mana until an equilibrium was reached. Well, there was one world among them, strangely dark and separated, that had mana flowing around it instead of into it; but that was something he would have to investigate in more detail when he got the chance….

"You seem proud of yourself, Kain- _kun_. Gloating over your victory already?"

"Homura Nagi," Kain muttered, instantly recognizing the voice and the presence that had suddenly appeared. He whirled on him, but he slipped by the attack and reappeared next to Kain, a hand extended clutching a small red jewel.

"Too bad it won't last," Nagi taunted.

Energy flashed, pulling at Kain; he felt some disjointment, some attack on his very soul, but nothing else seemed to happen in that instant, and since the elevator door opened at the same time, he attempted to shed the rest of it by escaping….

He slid out of the elevator door and turned back to it, but Nagi was gone. Kain stared in shock. It was as if he'd never been there; his appearance was carefully-cloaked, but this disappearance was something else entirely. He straightened up and looked around…and saw a dozen faces in the Secure Ready Room, as the room containing the elevator to the all-important Gate was called, staring at him in shock and, perhaps, fear….

A dozen guards in mage robes and brandishing powerful magical staves surrounded him in an instant, leveling their weapons at him. "Halt, intruder!" insisted one.

"Surrender immediately!" added another.

"This one, he looks familiar," a third muttered.

"H-how'd he even get in this far, with none of our systems or spells or wards reacting or going down!?"

Kain glanced around and frowned. "What's with you guys? I just finished fixing the Gate downstairs…."

"Fixing it!? Were you behind its sabotage!?" roared the first.

"Sabotage? What are you talking about?" Kain demanded, fear and suspicion creating a prickling crawl up the back of his neck.

"What should we do?" asked another of the guards. "This doesn't make any sense; he's speaking nonsense, too…."

"Just apprehend him so that we can interrogate him at our leisure!" insisted the apparent leader.

The staves fired magical rays at Kain, but he effortlessly conjured a magical shield to surround himself. The dome safely absorbed the energy and spread it out through the surface of the shield, blocking the attacks without reflecting any harm out to potentially injure the attackers or damage the building around them. As he did so, however, he finally noticed a distinct lack around his shoulders; his cloak was missing!

That, more than anything else, sent him into a confused panic. The theft of an artifact of space and time should have been impossible; it would certainly be immune to any kinds of magic that would transport it away from Kain, especially when he was wearing it. It even neutralized such spells attempted at the _wearer_ of the cloak, so how could one affect the cloak itself…?

On top of that, the guards and workers here at the Sendai Gate Building all seemed to no longer recognize him. While a ludicrous notion, it seemed to be the fact, and could have been accomplished by a number of effects, although all of them were equally absurd; perhaps Nagi had already brainwashed the whole building into not remembering him, although that effect would have been quite petty and pointless in the grand scheme of things. More likely, he had transported him to some strange sort of alternate universe where things were somewhat different; an 'alternate future' like that Sakura had thrust upon him. But that would have been almost certain to have been blocked by his cloak, and he didn't feel any shifting in the space-time plane. It almost made the most sense despite that, however; if it was powerful enough, would he perhaps have been 'yanked out of his cloak' and into the new world?

It was difficult to say, but Kain was certain he'd be better off leaving this hostile area rather than continuing his reasonings under heavy fire. He let out a brief spell that repulsed the attackers, knocking them all flat and cutting off their spells, in order to keep them safe—he didn't want his sudden disappearance to cause them to suddenly shoot each other. Then he finally vanished….

8-8-8

And reappeared at the site that was currently the most familiar and friendly to him: Mahora Academy.

It was a normally difficult teleport in excess of 100 miles, but for Kain in his current state it was not particularly daunting, particularly since he was quite familiar with his destination. However, even as he cast his spell he detected an error in his destination coordinates, and shifted it to a safer location in the air above the school-city.

And stared down at the utter lack of a school-city. Once there had been a Mahora Academy, but now the academy was gone. Burned-out buildings and devastated ruins and scorched wilderness lay before Kain's shocked eyes. Even the great Mahora World Tree was a flame-ravaged corpse. The school was destroyed, and had been, it seemed, for many months. There was a feeling of dread and death through the scene.

In an instant Kain retreated to an alley in the city outside the school. He leaned against the wall and stared up at the evening sky. Ever since he had been transformed by the transplant of a demon heart, his emotions, which had so ruled him throughout his young life, had become the least of his concerns. He had been able to control them carefully and let his mind rule with advice and backseat-driving from his emotions. But now….

Now the sudden strangeness that had confronted him had shocked him. The appearance of Nagi Homura, the disappearance of his cloak, the strangeness of the guards, the sudden devastation of Mahora Academy…it was so much. Too much. His mighty brain and reason practically shut down under all the shock and impossibilities, and his emotions took over. Fear and despair and confusion dominated him. After staring out at the sky for time unknown, he turned and staggered out into the street.

He didn't know where he was going. He didn't have a plan, or any real destination or rhyme or reason. He was walking to do something, use up just a little bit of energy. The sky began to snow, and the cold nipped at him, but not even this discomfort pierced his mantle of despair.

He staggered into a park and impulsively decided to seat himself on a bench. "What's going on?" he muttered. "Am I really…somewhere else? This is no dream…it is a reality. If I've gone somewhere else…no cloak, no Mahora, no Gates, I don't have any friends, nothing I can depend on…everything, lost, in a blink of an eye…what…do I do…?"

He fell silent, letting the snow settle across him. He wasn't sure how much time passed until his consciousness was stirred by action; something shadowed his head and the snow stopped falling on him. "What are you doing here, looking so lost, in this snow?" a pleasant, familiar voice said. He looked up and noted the girl in front of him, holding an umbrella over his head. He recognized the beautiful face, even wrapped by coat and scarf. That familiar, long pink hair fell down between them.

"Hina…?" Kain murmured.

The girl stared at him. "Eh?"

8-8-8

Kain soaked in the bathtub, his thoughts mulling over the events of a very crazy day; one he could hardly even fathom being a day like Christmas Eve.

 _["You don't have anywhere to go, do you?" Hinagiku had asked him, brushing away Kain's murmur as something she must not have heard right. "There's no reason for anyone to be alone in a place like this on Christmas Eve, not even dressed for the weather." She sighed. "Seriously…here, come with me. We should at least get you clean and warm and dry, or you'll catch your death of cold." As he seemed to hesitate, still quite confused, she reached down imperiously, took his wrist, and pulled him forcibly to his feet. "Come on."]_

Kain smiled slightly as he remembered her practically dragging him back here…to what must be her family's home. _('So…this is Hinagiku's home, then? This is where Hinagiku…washes herself every day. Interesting. She…didn't seem to recognize me, either, but she thought I was nothing more than a lost puppy or cat and took me in. How very like her. That feeling…that I'm alien to her…still leaves me hollow, but…at least she's here, and she's still herself…but what about everyone else? Mai? Nodoka? Chisame? And what happened to Mahora…?')_

He finally emerged, dried and dressed, into the living room. Hinagiku was sitting on the couch, reading a book, the couch facing away from the hall that led to the bath; she glanced back over her shoulder at him as he entered. "Ah, are you finished? You definitely look more alert and alive, now."

"Yes; thank you very much."

"It's nothing, really. What is your name, anyway? You weren't in much condition to tell me before."

Again that hollow fang gnawed at Kain's heart. "Kain Lockeheart," he said easily.

"Kain Lockeheart," she repeated with less practice than he was used to, but far less difficulty than most Japanese. "It sounds…American, perhaps?"

"Yes, that's right."

"You speak Japanese very well, though," she commented. "I'm Katsura Hinagiku, by the way. You can call me Hinagiku, Kain- _kun_."

"Yes, I will…."

"Ah, you're dressed already!" Kain turned to the middle-aged woman in the doorway, with shoulder-length graying hair. She had a small stack of clothes in her arm. "I was getting some clothes of my husband's for you. I thought you could wear them, since you're about the same size…."

"Thank you, but I'm fine," Kain replied. "I had some other clothes ready to wear."

"Where were you keeping those…?" Hinagiku murmured suspiciously.

"Ah…is that so…well, if you would, sometime, I was also wondering if you could try on this frilly dress; I got it for Hina, but she refuses to wear it, so…."

"Thank you, Mother, we'll be fine now!" Hinagiku insisted, slightly red-faced, shoving her mother back to where she had come.

"Eh? But, Hina…."

Hinagiku finished evicting her mother, and Kain watched them, his face impassive. "So that's your mother, Hina?" he asked casually. "She seems…lively…."

"She is…I apologize, but, ah, I'm sorry, it seems she thinks you appear…girly…she likes the idea of dressing up cute girls or boys like that." She focused on him, narrowing her eyes. "You seem…quite familiar in your speech, Kain- _kun_ , talking as if you know me. Is that because you're American…or…?"

Kain considered for a long moment. What should he tell her? She obviously didn't remember him. Should he tell her how much he knew? Or should he just feign ignorance? Something had caused this strange scenario. Nagi had done something…to him…to the world…to something. He had to figure out what had happened and fix it, whatever it took. Cut off from all his sources, all his support, all his known friends…he had to have something. This Hinagiku… _this_ Hinagiku was not his friend. She was a stranger. But….

"I do know you, Hina. Everyone knows the famed _kaichô_ of the Mahora Academy Girls' Middle School, after all…."

Hinagiku started. "W-what? Did you…go to Mahora Academy? I don't remember you…."

"Oh, yes, I was at Mahora Academy. I was a teacher, actually. I was the homeroom and English teacher of the Girls' Middle School class 2-A and then 3-A from late February onward."

"Two…three-A…? W-wait a minute! What are you trying to pull!? That's…."

"Your class," Kain agreed. "Yes, I'm well aware, since that's the class I taught. I know all twenty-nine of you. Asakaze Riza, Ayase Yue, Ayanami Rei, Ogata Matake, Katsura Hinagiku, Rakasu Klein, Konoe Kaoru, Sanada Sakura, Caria Spetzer, Segawa Izumi, Sendô Erika, Alyssa Sears, Tsukimori Kiami, Tokiha Mai, Nagato Yuki, Hasegawa Chisame, Hanabishi Miki, Harada Riku, Harada Risa, Hinamori Momo, Hirai Yukari, Higurashi Kagome, Heiro Akari, Miyazaki Nodoka, Mizuno Ami, Yûki Kanade, Yoshida Kazumi, Miyu Greer, Jinnai Nanami. That was our class. I know them all quite well. All of you, quite well."

Hinagiku stared in shock. "That's…but there's one I don't know. Who is Sanada Sakura?"

No Sakura? That had to be some kind of clue. "Somehow, I'm not surprised. It seems you don't remember her, either. You don't remember all that, you don't know me…but I know you, Hina. I know you intimately. After your parents disappeared, your sister shouldered their debt and fought tooth and claw to keep you safe. You grew up with a fierce feeling of needing strength because of that. You've tried to be strong, so much so that other girls put you on a pedestal with a 'cool' image, an image you never really wanted, but nonetheless embraced. Your determination and your natural excellent talents led you to your current position.

"You enjoy _endo_ , delighting in the tradition, physical exercise, and mental acumen it requires and fosters. Your exploits and cool image leave you the infatuation of many other girls, a fact which both secretly pleases and exasperates you at the same time. You secretly worry that you aren't girly or feminine enough, because you're never able to show those sides of yourself while you cling so desperately to that 'cool' image; you're deathly afraid of disappointing your fans. Speaking of deathly afraid, of course, you have severe acrophobia, which is probably your only real weakness. You actually do have a girly side, even if you don't think about it as such, as you are quite fond of stuffed animals and cute things and the like, as well as girly fashion that you can't bear to show anyone else. You will go out of your way, even braving that acrophobia to help even the lowliest baby bird should it fall out of its nest. Your favorite food, interestingly, is curry hamburger, a food type somehow regarded as 'masculine' (and another reason for your insecurity about your femininity). Although you are universally regarded as quite beautiful, you don't realize it, and when thinking of your appearance, you're more preoccupied with your smaller bust, especially compared to the likes of Mai and your dear friend and rival Erika. You are a valiant defender of the weak and anyone in trouble or downtrodden…just as you boldly took in a young man your age, invited him to your home and offered him your bath, simply because he looked like the world's most despondent creature on Christmas Eve." He smiled at the girl, whose face was shock churning through a multitude of other feelings, and reddening quite well, too, particularly through certain of his comments. "You are the _kaichô_ of my girls, the one on whom I've had to greatly depend, who has been my support and friend and helper through a great many trials. When you found me, I was the most lost and despondent creature in the world, one who had lost his existence. Now, even though you obviously don't remember anything that is in my memory…the fact that you found me gladdens my heart. I'm quite relieved to see you again, to be here with you." He crossed his hands down in front of his stomach and bowed deeply before rising.

Hinagiku stared and stuttered, unable to organize her thoughts or find a coherent reply for some time. "I-I-I…y-you…t-that's…y-you said 'intimately', b-but I…!"

"No, no, not 'intimately' like that," Kain answered, waving his hand. "True, I know quite a bit more about you than you're comfortable sharing with other people, perhaps more than you realize about yourself. But I've been with you for about a year; I've watched you, analyzed you, even, and I've had the comments and observations of those who have known you better and longer than I."

"T-that's…but no, there has to be some sort of explanation for this! Some logical reason why you know all of this. There is…there is…."

 _('But the only reason I can come up with is that this man is some sort of crazy stalker…')_ she finally finished in thought.

"I'm not a crazy stalker," Kain said, as if reading her mind. "No stalker could get close enough to you to learn so much without someone as intelligent and aware as you noticing him. And then splitting his head open like a ripe melon."

"I-I wouldn't split his head open…!"

"No, but you would punish him for his misdeed, and rightly so." Kain smiled and shook his head. "I'm sorry for troubling you. I'm not sure why I said anything; it likely only frightens you. I should probably be going. I regret my imposition…and thank you for all your help." He turned towards the front door.

"W-wait!" Hinagiku suddenly insisted. "It's late…you have nowhere to go, right? Are you really going out into that weather at this time of night, without shelter or anything?"

"I'll get by," Kain replied.

"Why don't you stay here tonight, at least?" Hinagiku's mother said, appearing suddenly. "You can't go back out into that, after all."

"M-Mother! There _is_ a young teenage daughter here too, you know…."

"But he has nowhere else, right? What were you going to suggest, Hina? He could stay in the annex; Yuki- _chan_ isn't living here right now, after all."

Hinagiku hesitated. "Yes…I suppose that would neatly solve all the little problems, wouldn't it?"

"That's right! And, Kain- _kun_ , if the fancy strikes you, perhaps sometime you could try on this…."

"Let's go see your room, Kain- _kun_!" Hinagiku insisted, taking him by the hand and hauling him towards the door.

The annex was a separate, small building, a single room with its own toilette, stationed on the grounds of the house and not far from it. Hinagiku apologized for the mess; beer bottles lay strewn everywhere, and the room was in an obvious state of lacking any cleaning.

"So, this is usually Katsura- _sensei_ 's room, is it?" Kain muttered.

"Yes…I'll get that cleaned up for you…."

"No, if I'm already imposing on you, I can do at least this much," Kain insisted.

"But, to ask a guest to clean up the previous tenant's mess is…!"

"Don't worry, don't worry, it'll be no trouble, I assure you. If I can be so bold…if you feel you really need do anything more for me after you took me in and I merely troubled and embarrassed you, then…if it isn't too much to ask, could you make me a meal? I haven't really eaten anything since early this morning, and I fear my stomach will soon start drowning me out…."

"What? O-oh, of course…in fact, we haven't really eaten anything, either. What would you like?"

"Most of your dishes are excellent, Hina, so I'll be satisfied with anything you make. If I must choose, I wouldn't mind some of the hamburger curry you're so fond of."

Hinagiku glared at him, that bit of panic over Kain's overly-familiar attitude gnawing at the fringes of her emotions. "I feel like you're making fun of me…."

"I wouldn't dare, believe me."

She glared a second longer, then turned away. "All right. I'll leave you to it. I'll come back here to help you after dinner."

"It won't be necessary," Kain assured her.

He watched her leave, then turned to the mess. He sighed. "Well…at least no one ever changes. Hinagiku is utterly amazing, and Yukiji…is a disaster." He smirked slightly, then, just for his personal amusement, began to wave his arms like a conductor. The trash collected into a single pile and vanished. Scattered books and papers arranged themselves into neat piles on a bookshelf. Everything began to clean and right itself, as if he were the Sorcerer's Apprentice…but without any inexperienced fallout.

A short time later he exited his new temporary abode and returned to the main house. He decided that, despite the danger, he would perhaps head to the kitchen to assist Hinagiku.

But he encountered her mother first. "Ah…so, Kain- _kun_ …."

"I've very sorry, but I have absolutely no intention of wearing that or any other dress," he assured her automatically.

The middle-aged woman laughed a little hoarsely. "Um, yes…I suppose so…but that's not what I wanted to talk about." Her expression grew more serious and searching, and she asked, "Are you…related to Kalan Lockeheart?"

The name froze Kain slightly. Somehow, it surprised him. _('It shouldn't, though,_ he admonished himself. _I heard that the Katsuras were small parts of the magical society, even if they kept Hinagiku out of it. And, while Kain Lockeheart is a mystery, it appears that his father is still famous…and that is…comforting….')_

"Yes," he finally admitted. "I am very much related to him. I am his son."

"Ah…I see, I see. Yes, that makes sense. I had heard rumors that he had a son…but there was never any proof, no sign of the child, so everyone thought that it was just a rumor. Now, you're here. Is what you were telling Hina the truth?"

She had been listening in? That, too, shouldn't have been a surprise…any concerned parent would be expected to listen in on their daughters' conversations with strange young men. "Yes. It may seem like nonsense, but I was a teacher at Mahora Academy—Hina's teacher. Can you tell me what happened to it…to Mahora Academy?"

"Mmm." The woman appeared thoughtful. "I don't really know, myself. I wasn't there at the time. It was back in late June, during the School Festival. Something strange happened, and…the entire school was destroyed. Most of it was evacuated first, but it's long gone, now."

 _('During June…that was when Sakura played her hand. But Hina said that there is no Sakura, and if there was no Sakura nor Kain, then…did the Obsidian Star attack, instead? Would they be responsible for this?')_ Kain froze as the realization finally dawned on him. This had started when Nagi Homura had suddenly attacked him. If Kain hadn't been around to stop the Obsidian Star….

"I need to find out more about what happened," Kain said suddenly. Then he sighed. "Well, obviously Hina doesn't know anything, right? But…tell me, do you know Tsukai Kajirô?"

"Ah? Kaji- _kun_? Of course…he's been a friend of the family for years and years. Yes, he was closer to the incident…he ended up getting badly hurt, but…he's alive. Kain- _kun_ …if you wish to visit him, I'll ask Hina to take you there tomorrow morning. How about it?"

Kain paused only very briefly before nodding. "That would be excellent. Thank you."

Just then Hinagiku wandered into the room. "Oh? Kain- _kun_ , are you really finished cleaning up that mess, or are you just bothering my mother?"

"No, I'm all done…with both." Kain flashed her a teasing smile, then added, "Is there anything I can do to help you with dinner?"

"Please, you're our guest! Even cleaning that room was asking too much of you. In any case, it's ready, so why don't we go eat?"

They did so, moving to the dining room and sitting down to their meal. Hinagiku's mother provided most of the commentary for the group, steering the conversation to ask about Kain's home in America and skillfully avoiding talk of his work and life in Japan. Kain politely answered, sharing what 'normal' details he could of his hometown and history. He tried to let himself fall into the pleasant thoughts of his past, but it was difficult—the traumas of the day left him inwardly worrying about the condition of his hometowns—both of them, really—and part of him couldn't avoid even darker thoughts.

 _('…If there was no Kain Lockeheart, then there should have been no attack on Sleyn...right…? That town…is probably happy and alive, even now….')_

When he finished his meal, he rose, thanking his hosts, and insisting that he should get to bed.

"Eh? But it's still quite early," Hinagiku protested.

"I've had…a tiring day," Kain replied. "I feel I need my rest. But, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to ask for you guidance tomorrow, Hina."

Hina narrowed her eyes at him and smiled slightly. "Oh…how bold of you. Asking me out on Christmas Day? I wonder if I should be insulted…do you suppose that I don't have anyone to spend that day with?"

"Oh, do you have plans? I'm sorry, I would not wish to impose…."

"Ah, n-no…I don't really. I mean, in the condition you are in…I suppose I can't refuse one more request, on Christmas Day of all days…."

"Yes. Thank you. Then, tomorrow morning, would you take me to meet Tsukai Kajirô?"

Hinagiku stared at him in surprise. "Kaji- _kun_? Ah, so…you know him too, do you? I suppose I can, but why?"

"I just feel I need…to ask him a little about Mahora and everything that's happened. It would help me, I think. If it's not too much trouble." He bowed to her.

"O-oh, please, raise your head…as I said, I couldn't refuse such a simple request on Christmas Day. It's fine. I'll take you to see Kaji- _kun_ tomorrow."

"Thank you." He smiled at her gratefully, once again excused himself, and went off to bed.

His mind roiled with his thoughts and concerns as sleep, as it always did, fought to elude him. _('Kaji…hopefully he'll have some answers. I…don't know what I can do, or what can be done…if I should try to return the world to normal, or return me to my world, or try to help out somehow in this world…I just don't know…I wish this were another dream. Well, maybe after talking with Kaji, I'll have some idea…._

 _('…It's good Hina's here for me, at least; but I really miss the rest of that loud, obnoxious class right now. I really wish I had them here, too…I'm worried about them…and Mai….')_

F I N

 _Author's Note: A New World_

 _I've used that before, haven't I? Probably…but it's a completely new situation, more jarring than those dream worlds, more jarring than the alternate future Sakura created…more than even Arcanus Myrror, because his safe haven, his home and his family, what he really has, all is gone…._

 _There's a lot behind this, most of which won't be revealed until near the end of the Act when we wrap it up. But I can talk about this Hinagiku moment, as it again is pulled from Hayate. After Nagi makes an unusually bold request of Hayate in an effort to grow closer to him, she ends up terribly embarrassed and sends him away for a few days so her maiden's heart can recover (oh, what a long story for such a short event…). Maria gives Hayate 1 million yen ($10,000, nearabouts) for living expenses during the three or so days they expect him gone…but knowing Hayate's luck, even trying to be careful with it he loses all of it in less than a day. And Hinagiku finds the desolate, destitute Hayate without his coat on a park bench, and takes him home to give him a bath and let him recover._

 _Mirror this here, although Kain is unknown to Hinagiku; but she is too soft-hearted to leave such a sorry-looking young man alone. And in the sense that it's Christmas Eve, it draws partially upon the original Hayate and Nagi meeting, too._

 _Okay, that's mentioned. Now, let's continue with Kain's new adventure…._


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Two: Return of the Dreamer

Kain and Hinagiku gripped the ceiling handles dangling from the roof, and the boy watched the city outside as the bus churned its way through the streets. "Interesting," he muttered. "We're traveling away from Mahora…I would have thought that the Tsukai holdings would be near the school, being one of the Twelve Families and all."

"The Twelve Families are all wealthy and influential," Hinagiku pointed out. "They had homes near its grounds, of course, but they had other holdings as well. The ones nearest the school…have been largely abandoned after that disaster."

"I see." Kain followed her off the bus and through the streets…towards this more influential, upper-class section of town.

They finally arrived at such a residence, a large mansion ringed by a great yard and a massive, foreboding wall. The appearance gave Kain pause, but Hinagiku strode to the gate without any hesitation. She pressed a button by its obvious intercom. When a lovely feminine voice came on, asking the identity of the intruders, Hinagiku replied: "Katsura Hinagiku, and a friend. We're here to see Kaji- _kun_."

"Oh! As always, _Waka_ will be quite pleased by your visit."

The voice crackled off, and the gate swung open. Hinagiku immediately started toward the mansion itself, and Kain followed after, almost mesmerized by her temerity even facing such obvious opulence, and it was actually also Kain, and not Hinagiku, who was most put off by the almost magical appearance of two butlers who began to escort them at a respectable distance.

As they reached the door, it was opened by a pair of lovely maids, who took over the escort duties from the butlers. They greeted Hinagiku with friendly smiles and coy glances that passed over the girl's head entirely, but they were brought up short by the appearance of Kain. They recovered quickly and insisted on leading the way up the stairs towards Kajirô's abode, but Kain caught several more maids about, just at the edge of vision and hearing, watching them and sharing emotional whispers. He smiled slightly as he imagined the content of their gossip.

The leading maid finally took them to a door up on the upper floor, knocked lightly, loudly announced Hinagiku's name "…and a friend…." Then the door was opened, and the two scampered away. Hinagiku once again strode inside with easy confidence and, apparently, familiarity. Again Kain followed her placidly.

He did examine the room as he walked in, however. It was a large study or a small library, with a pair of small tables and one large desk at the back. Bookcases lined the walls, filling the space, and Kain gave them a quick cursory evaluation. They were carefully organized and of sweeping variety, from volumes of _manga_ to varied history texts, many religious tomes, philosophical treatises, some carefully-hidden books on magic and a wide collection of fictional narratives. Kain then allowed his focus to fall on the room's occupant; Kajirô sat at the desk, his left side turned toward the door, a book open in his left hand, which he lowered as he glanced over at the forward girl. He smiled at her and lowered the book. "Hinagiku- _san_ ," he greeted her. "I am honored by your presence." He turned to face her fully…and Kain's insides froze at the sight. Kajirô's right arm…was gone. The right sleeve of his shirt had been carefully sewn shut, leaving it clear that, from the shoulder on down, there was nothing left. "I didn't really expect to see you on today of all days." Then he finally seemed to notice Kain for the first time.

Hinagiku moved forward and set a carefully-wrapped package on one of the tables. "Your Christmas present," she announced. "I was planning to give it to you at the Sanzen'nin place, but you didn't show; I suppose I'm not surprised. You need to stop cooping yourself up in here…but, that's a lecture for another time, I think. Not today."

"Ah…you came all the way here to deliver this today…?"

"No, not for that. I just thought it was as good an opportunity as any. The reason I'm here is that this gentleman wished to see you." She pointed at Kain.

Kajirô turned curious, suspicious eyes Kain's way. Kain stared back without any emotion. "Hina…could you leave us alone for a moment? I need to talk to Kaji- _kun_ privately."

Hinagiku shot him a confused look, but after a moment she sighed and consented. She cast one last glance at the pair before leaving, shutting the door behind her.

Kajirô returned Kain's stare, suspicion and fear evident in his eyes. "Your arm," Kain finally murmured. "Kaji- _kun_ …what happened to you?"

Kajirô shifted himself nervously. "…I'm sorry…you seem to have the advantage of me…."

"Yes…I seem to have the advantage of everyone right now. Believe me, I have absolutely no pleasure in having the advantage of anyone. It's annoying and rather painful, actually." Kain smiled bitterly. "I apologize. My name is Kain Lockeheart. It's…a pleasure to meet you, Tsukai Kajirô- _kun_." He bowed deeply.

Kajirô's stare had become one of awe and amazement. "Lockeheart…I thought…you looked familiar…then you are…."

"Yes. His son." Kain nodded. "I…can't explain anything more than that. It wouldn't make sense, and you wouldn't believe it. But I need to know something from you. I need to know what happened to Mahora at the Summer Festival."

Kajirô's expression was unreadable. He finally looked aside, a robotic calmness over him. "The Summer Festival…yeah…that's when everything happened. The school…was attacked. By a force that nobody suspected, by a threat we never even knew was there. It happened so fast…and was so extreme. The students all thought it was part of the final day's events, and we let them keep thinking that as we evacuated them. Then those of us who were ready for combat went back in. But they…were unstoppable."

"The Obsidian Star?" Kain asked.

Kajirô shrugged his one shoulder. "Probably. None of us could think of anything else it could have been. They dominated us…and wiped out the school. They penetrated the depths of the academy, to the roots of the World Tree, and took over the Gate. Then they destroyed everything, razed the whole campus. At the same time, the eleven other Gates the world over were cut off from the other side. Since then…there's been almost no contact with any leaders of the magical world. And me…well…it's left me in no condition to be involved in that."

Kain was silent. "I see. I thank you for that, Kaji. It's what I needed to know."

As he turned away and started to go, Kajirô suddenly put in, "What are you…intending to do?"

"Whatever I have to," Kain replied. "Just because things have been quiet here does not mean that things are over. Far from it. And whatever it takes, I have to go to Arcanus Myrror after them and put a finish to this…again."

Kajirô stared after him in wonder as he went to the door, opened it, and departed.

Hinagiku turned to Kain in surprise as he exited and closed the door after him. "Well, Kain- _kun_ …what were you talking to Kaji- _kun_ about?"

"History," Kain replied. "Important history, if recent. I thank you for everything, Hinagiku. I think it's time I got started on my duty."

"Duty? What are you talking about? Hey, Kain- _kun_!"

Kain made his way out, paying no attention to Hinagiku nor the various interchangeable maids and butlers. Not until he had passed the gate of the estate and watched it close behind him did he return his attentions to the girl. "Again, thank you for everything, Katsura Hinagiku- _san_. Now I must finally take my leave of you. I have business to get back to."

Hinagiku stared at him, then put her hands on her hips and glanced askew at him. "Really? Just last night you were a lost kitten with no place to go. Now you have purpose, a mission, business to get back to…? That's all well and good, but I can't just let you go so easily with such a flimsy explanation. I found you and helped you recover, after all. I'm responsible for you until you're really back on your feet."

Kain stared at her. "So, I'm really a lost, misfortune-ridden cat you found and adopted? Ah, how any young man would happily die for such a dream scenario…."

"W-what!? I-it's not like that! But I can't just accept all of this quietly! You've said some strange things since you arrived. You even claimed you knew me. You even seemed to know Kaji- _kun_. But now all of a sudden you're abandoning us without explaining anything? You said that…that you were glad that I was there, that I was someone you depended on. You don't seem to be showing it right now."

Kain shrugged. "I'm sorry, but this isn't…any of your business any longer. I know you, but you don't me. The you that doesn't know me can't be part of this…you _shouldn't_ be part of this. Your family has done a lot to give you this quiet, more peaceful life…you should be content with it. The people around here need you. _He_ needs you." Kain nodded towards the mansion. "Embrace your part in their lives, and don't worry about me. I have someplace to go, and I have no choice but to go. And I don't know if I could take anyone else even if I wanted to."

As Hinagiku was about to retort again, a new voice preempted her. "Well, so you say, Kain- _sensei…_ but do you even have any idea how you'll even get yourself where you need to go?"

Kain froze. It had been less than twenty-four hours of surprises and the unexpected…but that voice, that sweet, familiar voice, was a voice he had not expected to hear again, not anytime soon, despite the last promise she had left him in that dream. He turned to the voice. "Sakura…."

There she stood, dressed in her black and white, her dark red hair tied up in that ever-present clothed bun. Standing behind her was the taller, similarly-dressed black-haired man who had fetched her when she departed at the end of the Festival. Hinagiku looked at them half-suspiciously and half-surprised. "Sakura…then, is this that Sanada Sakura- _san_ you mentioned earlier? She looks…rather like Momo- _san_ …."

"Sakura Johnson, actually," Sakura said easily. "Although I used the alias of Sanada Sakura while I was at the school. It's good to see you again, Hina, even if you don't remember me."

"You, too…you talk as if you know me, just like Kain- _kun_ …as if you're really…."

"As if we're from another world, right?" Sakura said brightly. "Well, it's really something like that, after all."

"So, is it really like that?" Kain asked. "We…are in another world, another reality, one where you and I…never existed?"

"Close…well, and in a way you're technically correct," Sakura replied. "Although this world, this reality, didn't even exist until yesterday. And the 'world' you remember no longer exists…it is gone, replaced by this world. You see…have you ever seen the movie 'It's a Wonderful Life'?"

"Eh? No…I don't believe so…."

"It is actually my father's favorite movie…and it's ironic that this happened to you on Christmas Eve, of all days." Sakura began to pace about as she elucidated. "You see, 'It's a Wonderful Life' is about…ah, it's a wonderful story, but maybe now's not the time. But when the hero of the film, George Bailey, believes that his life is useless and empty, and seeks to end his life, his guardian angel is sent down to convince him otherwise, and shows George just how much difference he has made…by showing him a world where he never existed." Sakura turned a dreamy, wide smile on Kain. "It's a great gift: to see how the world would have been without us in it. But in your case, it's a terrible pain, as well. What Nagi Homura did to you was erase your existence, everything about you, from this reality. Because you are now Infernal and magic in your very core, you, yourself, did not disappear. However, everything you've done, every mark you've made on this world—on all _seven_ of those worlds—has been erased. Because there was no Kain, a world-traveling creature like me would never have had reason to come to this world so, by extension, my existence has also been erased…but I was a stranger to this world, anyway, so my absence doesn't mean much, except to you. I remember it all, of course, because I'm not of this world.

"And that explains all of this: because there was no Kain, there was no attack on Sleyn, no demonic army for Kalan to repulse, no boy to give his cloak to. There was no child teacher to take over class 2-A, there was no American to prompt a class trip to Kyoto, no attack against Kagome- _chan_ and the rest of the Kansai Mages. There was no figure influencing so many girls to magic, no Graf sent to attack the school…and nothing, therefore, to interfere with the Obsidian Star's plots. Instead of carefully tiptoeing around you and me, they launched their assault early, on Mahora itself, and…well, Kaji- _kun_ just told you most of the results of that."

Kain's knuckles whitened as he clenched his fists, the only action betraying the calm façade that adorned his face. "This…how did it happen? And what can be done to reverse it?"

Sakura's smile was teasing, but her eyes were searching as she replied, "What? Do you not believe that this is permanent?" Her smile disappeared and she continued, "Nagi acquired a magical artifact from the artificer Duali, which he used to erase you from existence. It is a ridiculously powerful item, but with an equally easy means to reverse it—you simply need to track down Nagi and destroy that artifact. If you do, then this world will be undone, and everything will return to how you remember it. And for such a small artifact, it's actually quite fragile, so that part, if you can get your hands on it, won't be hard." Her smile returned and she gazed at Kain out of the corner of her eye. "But that returns us to my first question: how are you going to get to him? I can tell you that he is on Arcanus Myrror with the revived Obsidian Prince, waging war against the last vestiges of resistance in Orimus, and safely secured within the Obsidian Palace. But all the Gates have been destroyed, and all access to Arcanus Myrror has been cut off on this side; how will you reach your goal?"

Kain was silent a moment. "I've spent the last several months researching and operating on the Gates; but it's true, without my cloak I've lost most of my ability to manipulate and operate those space-time portals. But am I presumptuous in assuming that this is the whole reason you're here?"

Sakura turned back fully to Kain and nodded, smiling widely and happily. She raised a hand, two fingers extended, then tucked in her middle finger to leave her index finger alone. "Three wishes," she intoned. "This is the second; you have one more remaining. I can take us to Arcanus Myrror, and help you invade the Obsidian Palace…but after that, it will be up to you. We'll do what we can, but in the end, it will all be up to you."

As Kain opened his mouth to reply, a sudden interruption came. "H-hold it! Wait just a minute!" Hinagiku insisted, bringing everyone's attention back to her. "I-I don't know what you two are talking about or what's going on here…but isn't it rude to go discussing secrets within earshot of others?"

"It's terrible, isn't it?" countered the black-haired Soul Reaper flanking Sakura, causing him to suddenly become the focus of attention. "These two are so caught up in their discussion they aren't seeing anything else. I know how you feel, Katsura Hinagiku- _san_ ; we're both being completely ignored. Why, I haven't even gotten an introduction, yet."

Sakura started. "A-ah! You're right; forgive me, Minoru. This is Kankotsu Minoru, a friend and colleague of mine." Then she turned her attention on Hinagiku. "And I'm sorry for seemingly ignoring you, Hina; you've been a great help to Kain- _sensei_ , both before and even here. But now it's my turn to take Kain- _sensei_ off your hands; as you say, none of this makes any sense or has any meaning to you. We should be taking our leave, now."

"Not so fast!" Hinagiku insisted. "I don't like being dismissed so summarily. You're right; I've done a lot for Kain- _kun_ since we met yesterday. I took him home and let him use my bath, gave him a meal, gave him a place to sleep, even took him here so he could meet with Kaji- _kun_. And all this despite having to put up with his _intimate_ knowledge of my life, coming from a complete stranger. I'm not one to insist on repayment for favors, but still, don't you think I'm owed a little more than being thanked and sent on my way?"

Sakura looked at Kain in amused exasperation. He chuckled. "Well, you have a point, Hina. So, fine; you asked for it, and I'll give it: an explanation." He stretched out his hand and snapped his fingers, and suddenly the world around them disappeared, leaving them in a colorful, almost digital-looking null space. As Hinagiku began to react to this—in particular, frozen trying to decide if she was supposed to be suffering from her acrophobia or not—Kain explained, "What we're talking about begins with magic." An image of Earth, the globe, appeared, revolving slowly before Hinagiku's fascinated eyes. "Magic is something a reasonable, educated, rational and logical person like you would dismiss off-hand, but it's actually a real power that exists in this world. However, the mages who use it and 'rule' over it—as much as any mortal can rule magic—have kept knowledge of the talent and power secret in order to protect themselves and this world." A second globe appeared next to Earth, moving it slightly aside—Arcanus Myrror. "This was made easier because there is a second world, a world of stronger magic, bordering Earth, its equal and opposite—Arcanus Myrror, the magical mirror-image of Earth. Here, many fantasy stories from video games and novels are emulated, and magic is common and normal. But Arcanus Myrror was invaded by what are essentially alien magical parasites, who were trying, short version, to destroy both worlds." The globes were replaced by the Obsidian Star's comet-like symbol and a man who looked rather like Kain himself. "Twenty years ago, my father, Kalan Lockeheart, defeated the Obsidian Star…but not entirely. Now they've come back. Again. I explained my side to you before." These two images disappeared, and were replaced by a multitude of images, some still and some in motion, of Kain and the class. "I graduated from a magical university in America at age 14, and early this year was sent to 'continue my studies' by becoming your class, class 2-A's, homeroom and English teacher. We had a lot crazy things happen to us, and some mysterious magical adventures seemed to crop up; one by one, you all learned about magic. For summer vacation, I decided to go into Arcanus Myrror to look for my father, who had disappeared about the time I was born. Many of you followed me there. But disaster struck immediately, and the Obsidian Star trapped us on that side."

Kain was now producing images of Eminus, Dynamis, and other members of the Obsidian Star they had fought, and even more images of the White Wings in action. "We were forced to join the fight against the Obsidian Star in order to protect both worlds…and finally, we won. They were fully defeated. Or so we thought." Now an image of Nagi Homura alone appeared. "There was one survivor, Nagi Homura, or, rather, Nagi Di Artai. Despite his appearance, he is a demonic monster untold thousands of years old. Sakura just explained to me that he erased me from existence…as insane as that sounds, even to me, we have the proof here. I know and remember all of you so well, but you remember nothing about me. Because of that, the Obsidian Star has been revived one last time. So, one last time, I have to go destroy them, so that our world will go back to what it was." Kain finally lowered his hand and the images all vanished. "That's basically the short version. That's what you asked for, Hina. Was it enough for you?"

Hinagiku stared in shocked silence for several long moments. "I-I don't even know where to begin," she finally muttered. "None of this…makes sense. But…there's one thing you didn't explain to me. In…changing things…is this 'Obsidian Star' also the entity responsible for destroying Mahora Academy? For hurting Kaji- _kun_ and so many of my friends?" Kain nodded without hesitation, and Hinagiku continued quietly, "I see. I always wondered what it was about. I knew that Kaji- _kun_ and the rest were keeping secrets from me, but no matter what I tried, they never explained themselves. Even _Onee-chan_ refused to say anything, and I knew that, somehow, even she had some idea. And now you're going to go fight them, right?" She raised her head to stare at him fully, fire in her eyes. "I'm not going to just stand here, send you off, and say 'Best of luck!', then! I want to be a part of it! If this was part of my place, then I want it back, even if I don't remember! Now! Let me fight them, too!"

As Kain stared at her in bemusement, another haunting laugh interrupted them. "Well said, Hina- _chan_! As always, you've got spirit!" Something shuffled inside Sakura's robes, and a white ermine suddenly came darting out from a sleeve and ran up her arm and shoulder, then hopped onto Kain's. "Yo!" it declared.

"Kamo!" Kain said with the most fervent delight and relief.

"E-eh!? A talking ermine!?" Hinagiku demanded in shock.

"Ah, I haven't got that reaction in a while!" Kamo sighed. "I have to admit, I missed it! I'm one of the old guard, Hina- _chan_ …one of your comrades from before. I'm a spirit of magic, so I didn't forget anything about that other world, of course…but since I was here when reality changed, I got sling-shot across the universe."

"I found him along my way here and picked him up," Sakura said cheerfully.

"Ho-ho, picked me up…more like I caught wind of you and hitched a ride. It's good to be working with you for a change, _Ojô-chan_." He turned back to Hinagiku. "Well, as the kiddo would surely tell you, you have no chance of helping out as you are now. But you could be of use to us…if you did what your predecessor in the previous world did, and formed a contract with Kain." He paused and glanced up at his master, waiting for some kind of reaction or outburst, but Kain was silent, smiling slightly.

"Eh? C-contract? Well, if that's what it takes…and if I did it before...it can't be that bad, right? Fine…I'll bite. How does this 'contract' work and how does it help me?"

Kamo still stared at Kain. "No objections, Kiddo? No outbursts?"

"No. I'm a demon now, remember? Things like that don't bother me anymore…not when there are more serious problems. It would be kinder to bring Hinagiku into the fire now than to leave her behind, and besides, even if she dies, if this plan succeeds, everything that happens in 'this world' will be undone, right? So let's not stall anymore, and get it over with. If you would, Kamo?"

Kamo chuckled and gestured with a paw, forming his circle. Hinagiku looked around, surprised. "O-okay…so what happens now…?" And she looked back at Kain, and froze in shock as he was suddenly there, right in front of her, taking her by the back and head and bringing her forward in a swift kiss.

Hinagiku's fearful shock and outrage immediately disappeared behind the torrent of emotion and power that welled up inside her. _('W-what is this…? I-it feels…so familiar….')_

The power vanished, and Kain withdrew rather swiftly. Hinagiku stared up at him in frozen shock…and then finally reacted. Muffling a scream even as it came out of her, she grabbed the card that appeared in the air, summoned Shirozakura, and swung it at Kain, who bemusedly caught the blade in one hand. "K-Kain- _sensei_ …w-what was…w-what is…?"

"Kain- _sensei_?" Minoru noted with bemusement. "That sounds like she's speaking from the 'original world', right?"

Hinagiku withdrew, lowering her sword, and reached up with one trembling hand to support her head. "W-why…? I-it feels like I have…t-two different memories of a whole year…w-what's going on?"

"She's recalling the 'original world'," Kain interpreted. "Did you suspect this, Kamo?"

The ermine chuckled. "You bet I did. Because the two parts of the contract, you, the master, and me, the fulcrum, are beyond space-time like this, renewing the contract in this place carries with it the residual memories of the previous world…of who used to be contracted to us. I'm sorry for the confusion, Hina- _chan_ , but once you get used to it, you should really be one of us again."

"G-get used to it, Kamo- _kun_?" muttered Hinagiku, dismissing her artifact and pocketing her card. "Sorting out two different pasts is going to be difficult…I wonder if this is what Mai has gone through since she remembered being the Crystal Princess?" She glanced over at Sakura and narrowed her eyes. "So…you're really on our side this time, Sakura- _chan_? No tricks or plots?"

"Oh, c'mon, Hina- _chan_ …you must have seen enough in both worlds now to have an idea as to why I did what I did. How things might have turned out…if I had succeeded, or if I hadn't interfered at all. I had good reasons for that, because I care for Kain- _sensei_. And because I care for Kain- _sensei_ , I definitely don't want a world where he doesn't exist, you know?"

"Right…I get it…." She sighed and stood up straight, then glanced at Minoru. "And this…Kankotsu- _san_ …I remember seeing him when you left. Is he that 'boyfriend' you talked about before the Festival?"

"Boyfriend?" Minoru said curiously, glancing at Sakura.

Sakura turned away with a smile and seemingly ignoring both questions. "Okay, it's a small party, but we're assembled! Let's get going!" She gestured, and the data-world Kain had created shattered apart, again leaving them in the normal world.

"Let's get going, you say…but where to, exactly?" Kain demanded.

"The closest place there is residual Gate energy, of course," Sakura replied, glancing over her shoulder at him. "The remains of Mahora Academy."

8-8-8

It was a far more somber party that made their way across the desolated grounds of the former school-town. The site was barred off, but Sakura used a spell to slip them all past the barriers without incident. While they followed her, they also seemed to be completely ignored by all the other people they passed.

They spread out, casting their eyes about as they made their way across the fields and debris. Their destination, naturally, was the burned husk of the Mahora Tree. Kain stared up at it for a long moment. "Here, then?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," Sakura agreed. "Here, where the last vestiges of Mahora's magic linger, I can use Yume no Musôka with minimum fuss to open the Gate between worlds."

"Everything here was destroyed," Hinagiku murmured. "Why? What did the Obsidian Star want here?"

"Hmm…something they never ended up getting originally." Kain turned and looked back at Hinagiku with a slight smile. "There is something special about Mahora that sets it apart from all other magical sites on Earth, above all the Mana Trees that still grow in this world…."

As Kain began his lecture, darkness suddenly began to flow out and pool in a shadow behind him. Then, in one sudden motion, it shot into a massive cloud and came down in a savage rain of black blades, burying the four companions. They all reappeared, scattered, immediately thereafter, having dodged the attack, and warily watched the site of the offensive.

Kain, however, smiled. "Well, Alyssa…I was wondering what happened to you. This is quite a welcome you've given us, however."

" _Ho…_." The shadows flowed out, rolled together, rose into the air and swirled in their sight. A golden eye opened in the midst of the dark cloud. " _What creature are you? What audacity you have…calling me by that name, while wearing a face like that…what Infernal would dare come here to mock me? I'll ask you as I slowly kill you, audacious rat…._ "

"W-wait, Alyssa!" Hinagiku demanded. "This is Kain- _sensei_! Our teacher, and our friend…!"

" _Oh…Katsura Hinagiku-_ kaichô _. You recognize me, even in this form? How interesting…what are you talking about…?_ "

"A high-powered opponent," Minoru murmured to Sakura as they dodged an attack. "Do we fight it?"

"Not yet…she's an old classmate," Sakura replied. "Even if she doesn't recognize us…what will you do, Kain- _sensei_ …?"

"So, your full power is unleashed," Kain remarked. "Of course, the seal on your power was tied into the electrical system of Mahora; now that all of that is gone, there's nothing restricting your abilities. But the seal binding you to these grounds has not departed, leaving you as a prisoner of a desolated memory. A cruel side effect of the Obsidian Star's rampage…."

Kain danced and dodged back as the shadows pressed him in their slicing waves. " _Curious…tell me, boy, who are you? What is your real identity?_ "

"Come, Alyssa." Kain parried several strikes with brief bursts of power. "You're a _mazoku_ …maybe you've been living as a human for a long time, but with your power unbound, you should follow the same rules I do…you can be aware of shifting and alternate realities, right?"

The shadows rose…and hesitated. All four of them hit the ground and hesitated as well, waiting for the next assault…but the shadows withdrew further, turned into a golden light, then twisted and compressed together until it was a small, childlike humanoid shape…and alighted on the ground as Alyssa. "Well, Kain- _sensei_ …you're certainly right. I was far too long a mere, powerless human. The world changed, and I lost all memory of the old, bound as I was in that infantile mortal form. I never suspected it might have been different…I must thank you for waking me up." Her teasing smile turned into a cold stare. "So, now, tell me…what brought this fresh new hell upon me?"

The group relaxed and Kain chuckled. "Okay. Here it is." He re-explained the situation to Alyssa, who listened without interruption.

"Nagi Homura, eh…you messed up, Kain," Alyssa chided him when the explanation was finished. "You should have made sure of all the Obsidian Star before declaring victory. But what's done is done…at least for now. You're going over to put a stop to him now? You better hurry…I want to get out of this terribly boring reality as soon as possible."

"You can't come help us?" Hinagiku demanded.

"Alas, no," Alyssa replied, smirking. "Even with all my power, as Kain so astutely pointed out, I'm bound to the remnants of Mahora's grounds. Unlike last time, they aren't yet directly forming the connection between Mahora and Orimus…of course, they already took the Mana Seed, too, so there likely won't be a connection until the end." She stared up at the sky for a moment, pondering, then turned to Kain. "It seems like this is a world where everything went wrong, but if it had followed the original world precisely, the Obsidian Star should have already won by this point with the time-acceleration. So, somehow, something is still keeping them at bay." Then she stopped suddenly, and turned with a sly smile to Sakura. "Or are you responsible for this, Sakura- _chan_?"

"Well…maybe," Sakura said with a smile. "I can't take total credit…but my dreams can connect the worlds in whatever time frame I desire. Although perhaps if everything went perfectly for them it might already have been a success, the very timing of their changing the world gives us leeway. We'll be going over on Christmas Day on that side, too. Shall we go?"

Kain nodded. "Right. You ready, Hinagiku?" Numbly, recovering, the girl nodded, and approached. He turned back to Alyssa. "Well, we should be off. See you…on the other side of the rabbit hole, Alyssa."

Sakura faced the broken tree once again and drew her sword, and the other three instinctively took up positions to flank her, with Alyssa standing respectively at the back, watching. "Sleep deeply, Yume no Musôka."

A glowing portal opened in the air before them, and they walked into it…and forward to the next stage of their destinies.

F I N

 _Author's Note: The Journey Begins_

 _And so! My beloved Sakura returns as a prelude to this big, exciting adventure. The world is messed up, but it's not totally hopeless—Kain has Sakura and other allies ready to back him up._

 _Not a lot to say yet…the action continues._


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Three: The Resistance

The four (five) appeared in the air; naturally, Hinagiku began to panic. Kain teleported them all to the nearest asteroid. "Just keep calm, Hina. I'll get us somewhere a little more stable and reliable once I get more of my own bearings." He glanced around and took in the area. All the asteroids floating in the sky…and the floating city behind them. The other way, almost looking like a dark mirror image, its evil cousin, was Eldrant and the Obsidian Palace. Hatred and loathing began to rise up, smoldering in the depths of his heart, but he forced them down and instead addressed Sakura: "Well, Orimus…obviously we're in the right place, but dumping us in the middle of the air?"

"It's not my fault! …Well, not entirely. I mean, of course my portal did it, but it certainly wasn't my intent to leave us up like that….it's just…."

An explosion enveloped them, a flashing rain of a million blades in the shape of bolts of light. When they cleared, the scene on the asteroid was rather unchanged, but Minoru stood with one palm upraised and an iridescent shield flickered all around the asteroid. "Thank you, Minoru," Sakura murmured. "Impressive as always."

Minoru lowered his hand and the barrier faded. "There is already a welcoming party here for us; I suppose we should get to it, eh?"

The figures appeared in the air, moving towards them, and they leapt into action.

Kamo hopped over to Hina, and the pair vanished. They reappeared on a much larger asteroid down below. "This place should be more conducive to your mental state," Kamo remarked. "And…."

A meteorite impacted in front of Hinagiku…and unfolded itself into an armored creature, semi-upright, with fanged jaws and glowing eyes along with its bulky arms. "Xuell, the Shell Buster," the creature growled. "You, succulent creature, will be mine."

"…Yeah, this one's come for us," Kamo finished.

Hinagiku readied her sword. "Not a chance…I'll use you as practice to get back in fighting shape!"

8-8-8

Sakura stepped into the air. A man appeared behind her, hovering without much motion besides the wind blowing his clothes, and she turned to him. He was a silver-haired, middle-aged man by appearances, dressed in a rather modern casual suit with sunglasses and carrying an exotic-looking polearm. "So…you're higher than an Obsidian Knight," Sakura remarked.

"You're perceptive," the man replied. "We are Obsidian Lords…the Prince's very elite. I am Sydonay, the Thousand Changes. You must be…a Soul Reaper Captain? I thought we'd just about taken care of all of you."

Sakura smiled brightly. "Well…I'm just an interloper. Now, let's play, shall we?" She drew her sword. "Sleep deeply, Yume no Musôka."

8-8-8

Kain alighted on an upper asteroid, and was immediately facing a short figure wrapped in robes. Only hints of a humanoid face and one eye were visible poking out from those dull grey clothes, and a youthful voice declared, "Ho…we know of you. The Prince warned us of you. Kain Lockeheart, Kalan Lockeheart's son…you, who no longer have a life…."

Kain smirked and manifested a mana blade. "I'll be remedying that shortly, believe me."

"I see. But you will not find the going easy against Lomyr, the Dark Eclipse." Light began to swell from the cracks in his wrapped cloth.

8-8-8

Minoru, like Sakura, took to the air, and was immediately confronted by a floating foe. He was wrapped in bandages, obscuring his face save his glowing red eyes and hiding the rest in darkness, and wore a cape as well. Two swords were in his hands, and a mass of green hair emerged from the top of his bandage-wrapped head. Minoru studied him. "Kankotsu Minoru, Captain of the 8th Company of the Gotei 13 of the Mistworld. You…threw that first attack, didn't you?"

The foe studied him back. "You blocked my sure-fire sneak attack…no one has ever managed that feat before. Usually my first strike ends all contests, but you have some skill. I am Sabrac, the Destructive Blade. You will be a fine challenge for my swords."

Minoru drew one of the swords at his side. "I suppose you mean that as a compliment, but it doesn't matter to me. Just come at me already."

Sabrac did so, and the two began to duel. Their blades clashed together, Minoru moving his single blade in one hand with speed to match Sabrac's twin swords. Finally Minoru managed to repel one strike, throwing Sabrac off-balance, and immediately slipped behind him and cut him down. "Well…" Minoru murmured. "That was too easy…." He brought his sword back around behind him to block the strike that followed. "Or maybe not."

He whirled, throwing Sabrac off. "I know I cut you down…but you seem perfectly fine." Sabrac's eyes flashed, and a blast of light-like blades came streaking in towards Minoru, fast and intense. Minoru withdrew, fending off the blades desperately.

The storm relented, and he settled into place in the air. Sabrac stared at him. "To have utterly avoided all those strikes, without suffering a single scratch…you are very talented," Sabrac noted. "Still, I wonder why you're holding back. You should draw that other _zanpaku-tô_ if you wish to defeat me."

"It seems you're misinformed about a few things," Minoru replied. "You assume that because I have two swords, I practice _nitô-ryû_ , but that's actually not true. Well, it is true that I am trained in that art…but it's a rather roundabout reason that has nothing to do with these two blades. Rather, this one I'm using…." He presented his sword. "…It's not a _zanpaku-tô_. Not anymore, anyway. I carry it for two reasons…in memory of its former master, the loved one I lost, and because my _zanpaku-tô_ is a difficult type."

Minoru moved his other hand to the hilt of his sheathed sword. "Some _zanpaku-tô_ have difficult personalities, and Hinome [Eye of Light] is one of the most difficult. She is a sword that detests conflicts. She hates to be drawn without very good reason and won't release her power unless there's a convincing need, so against people she doesn't want to fight, it's good to have a backup sword.

"But you are right about one thing. You praised me for avoiding even a scratch, which would seem to indicate that even a scratch from your weapon could be something that completely tips a battle's scales. If that is the case, then I should really stop holding back." He reverse-gripped his sword and slid it easily into his sheath, then grabbed and pulled his other sword out. "Shine brightly, Hinome."

Hinome flared, its blade being replaced by a beam of light and its guard disappearing, becoming a katana-like lightsaber. Then Minoru immediately leapt back into battle against the swordsman. His fury was redoubled, and he swung his sword in both hands as he took on a more serious _zanjutsu_ style. Finally one vicious strike cut one of Sabrac's swords in half and then Minoru immediately sunk his blade into the torso of his foe, then tore him apart by ripping the light out with a slash. Sabrac fell away, breaking apart without delay, but then Sabrac was coming on him from behind immediately thereafter. Minoru whirled without pause, taking apart both of Sabrac's swords then cutting him down in a flash.

And yet Minoru was not surprised when Sabrac appeared in the air above him, seemingly unharmed. "I see," he murmured. "So that's your secret…it's well-known that demonic creatures have a malleable form and that their essence dwells beyond the mortal plane, but you have a particular trait. Your form is actually integrated with the terrain around us, all these floating asteroids, and that body that keeps attacking me is nothing more than a glove or interface device you are using to interact directly; it's really nothing more than a distraction as you make attacks with your omnipresent true form. Breaking apart your entire essence in this place will be troublesome."

"Hmm," Sabrac replied neutrally. "You are equally impressive. You've avoided all my attacks and even broken three of my swords; truly, I will miss them. It is a shame. But I've got your measure now. You won't escape unscathed this time."

His bizarre blades of light filled the sky, pouring in on Minoru from all sides. He dodged and weaved as he could, but it seemed he was swimming in a sea of bright death….

Finally, as the storm began to slacken, Minoru alighted in the air behind Sabrac's presented form. There was a small cut on his right side, and a small pooling of blood was growing visibly over his robes. He moved his hand to the wound.

"You're wounded." Sabrac turned to face Minoru. "That's the first strike; and the decisive one. My ultimate power is an ever-present link to my swords, my Stigmata. Those wounded by my swords do not heal; in fact, the wound endlessly grows worse until the victim dies. With this I have already killed three Soul Reaper captains just like you. Your clock is running out."

"Ah…this is indeed a serious wound," Minoru agreed. "I'm no slouch at healing, but with all my concentration I can barely slow it to near-stagnation. You…are someone with natural power who never really had anyone near you to compare yourself to, aren't you? I was luckier…there were gods above me long before I was born, and always someone for me to look up to and realize my failings. You've never had that…so you won't know how to deal with me." Minoru presented his sword. "Empathy is a very powerful and necessary trait, even for warriors—especially for warriors. You must understand those you wound. Hinome insists on it. Strike back, Hinome."

There was a pulse of energy, and Sabrac cried out. Blood appeared on his side, just above his right hip, and it began to bloom out. Sabrac stared down at the wound in shock. "W-what is this…!?"

"Hinome hates violence and intentional harm," Minoru explained. "She believes in punishment, and in a sense of justice. Her power, Retribution, lets her return any wounds I've received to the foe who dealt them, as long as they have been touched and contaminated by my spiritual pressure, as you have been. It is returned in every detail…so now, you are also suffering from your own Stigmata. Well, that Retribution is a nasty ability, and you can say it's unfair, but it isn't godlike—I can't use it more than once in a battle, unless it's a _very_ long battle. Still, now we're on even ground…but I doubt you have countermeasures for your own ability."

Sabrac stared in shock, his mind racing. "Well, this body is wounded…but if I abandon his form…no…."

"That's right," Minoru agreed. "You are too connected, this 'puppet' and your 'true body', and Hinome knows your scent now. If and when that form fails, the curse will simply spread to your main body." Minoru raised his sword. "Of course, that great form of yours will take a long time to perish from the Stigmata, and I, too, am on a timer, as you say, even if this is only a dream body. So I'll use all my power to send the entirety of your essence on to the next realm…."

Light began to flare of off of Minoru, growing brighter and brighter, and Hinome blossomed out to blinding light. Power surged as Minoru began to become a veritable sun, but Sabrac, swiftly understanding Minoru's power, did not wait to see the end result. He fled, his body and all his essence vanishing from the battlefield. Minoru let his power and light disperse and glanced after the retreating presence he still felt. "Ah…that's good enough for a conclusion, I believe…."

8-8-8

Light burst from Lomyr's 'body' in rays and streams, a merest brightening under his wrappings as the sole warning that such an attack was coming. Kain weaved and dodged them all nonetheless, swaying through the blasts and retaliating with spells and quick slashes of his own, but Lomyr was equally slippery, avoiding all of Kain's attacks as well.

Kain decided to switch tactics and test the waters, this time moving into the attack and blocking it with his mana sword. He successfully deflected it away, but Lomyr, undeterred, continued his barrage of rays. Kain suddenly began to follow up, moving forward right into the attacks and deflecting each one away. Lomyr began to fall back, and as Kain suddenly stepped right to his front and brought a slash down, the agile little mummy-man leapt high into the air and came to rest there. Light again began to be emitted from his body, but Kain suddenly gathered power in his hand and tossed it heavenward in a series of streaking magic bolts.

Lomyr weaved to dodge this latest attack, but they seemed to be drawing ever nearer, and right before they struck, there was a pulse of darkness that rolled out from him, intercepting and snuffing the missiles. It didn't stop there; it continued rolling out, picking up speed, until it swept over the retreating Kain. The next instant he was surrounded by pitch-black darkness, and the presence of Lomyr's essence was all-encompassing. "You do well, boy," hissed Lomyr's equally omnipresent voice. "But the time for play is over. Be utterly crushed by my eclipse."

Pure power filled the dark world, becoming a weight, a pressure, a furnace of pure annihilation. Kain resisted the power directly, pouring his own energy to match it—and then exceed it. "Nice," he commented. "But it's not enough. And if this is all you…then hurting you is like taking candy from a baby." He let his power surge out, pushing back Lomyr's pressure and slamming against the 'walls' of his prison. There was a shattering, an explosion, and the darkness vanished, leaving the semi-humanoid form of Lomyr falling away from him, screaming in pain, half of his body now misshapen and streaming away as if from a deadly wound. He fell back quickly, but Kain was quicker still, darting straight into his face and bringing his sword down. Lomyr fell away, severed in half and dead.

8-8-8

Sakura darted in and out like a stinging insect, her sword flashing through the air with speed as she employed her one-handed Japanese fencing style. Sydonay's weapon moved with equal speed, however, blocking and repelling each strike…and Sakura matched the force of each of his attacks, not letting the larger weapon (or the larger fighter) push her around or direct her. In fact, that invisible sword of hers was suspiciously solid, rigid and immovable, giving no sign of being able to give.

"You're doing quite well, keeping up with this unseen blade of mine," Sakura commented.

"Who do you take me for, little girl?" Sydonay replied with a sardonic smile. "I am no mere human, tricked by the vision before his eyes. The presence of that sword is quite easy to detect. It is a unique experience, but if you're relying on an invisible sword, you have no chance of defeating me."

"Ah, I see…yes, a great Obsidian Lord, probably far older than me…there's no way I could trick you with any tactic, is there?" Smiling brightly, Sakura suddenly leapt backward to dodge an attack, putting a sizable distance between the two. Sydonay hesitated, wondering what trap she was laying…and suddenly she swung, and despite the distance, the blade was now easily within reach of him.

His eyes bulged, but he deflected the attack. She made a few more swings with that elongated blade. The most unnerving thing about it was the timing…there was no sense of the blade growing, no extension that was traceable, regardless of the speed. One moment, it was a shortsword, invisible but discernible, and the next, it was over ten meters in length….

He knocked it aside once more and then charged in, hoping to put her back on the defensive with a counterattack and nullify that sudden senseless reach. The minute he started moving forward, however, Sakura moved to meet him, and was immediately in his face again, swinging with a newly shortened invisible blade. He just managed to twist aside in time to dodge it.

"You _are_ good," Sakura commented. "Those without experience with it have trouble adjusting to a sword that doesn't exist, but you're doing quite well." She darted in again, exchanging blows with him, and this time, as he tried to parry her fourth strike, the blade slid through the haft of his weapon quite easily and kept on coming.

Sydonay flashed away in an instant, but his shades fell away, the right frame cut cleanly, a line of blood running on the side of his head between his right temple and his eye. He stood frozen, considering Sakura as he attempted to process this new method of attack. "Well! Marvelously done," Sakura commented. "I was hoping to take your head off right there so this could be over, but you certainly are being careful. This is going to take longer than I thought it would…that's really a shame." She raised her sword above her head and swung again, despite the distance.

Sydonay was ready for the sword to be extremely long again, but this time it was suddenly coming at him from behind. He twisted away to dodge it, and Sakura pulled back and made another strike, and again, ignoring all proper laws of physics and space, the sword was darting in from an alien angle. He was about to parry it when he remembered it sliding through his polearm before and again tried to dodge instead, this time suffering a small wound.

He suddenly opened his mouth and retaliated with a blast of energy from his maw, and Sakura was forced to relent on her offensive and withdraw. They took the moment after the exchange broke to survey each other. Sydonay stared at her with cold curiosity. "I have fought Soul Reaper Captains before, but…never against a sword like that."

"It's nice, isn't it? Like I said, it doesn't exist, and that's its primary power. It's just a dream…and therefore can be anything I really want it to be, any size, existing in any space, intangible or tangible at will…just like a dream." She assumed a more _katana_ -like stance for a moment. "I've played around enough, however…I really should get to finishing you off."

"Heh. Your sword is unique, but do you truly believe you have that much of an upper hand? I should get serious as well. I remind you of my name—Sydonay, the Thousand Changes." He lowered himself into an almost animalistic pose…and transformed into a man-beast, part tiger, part snake, part bird of prey, still holding that polearm. He then charged at Sakura with a new, remarkable speed.

Sakura fended off his new attacks desperately, making her sword tangible enough to block and repel his strikes, but despite all her speed she was now on the defensive. His strength was sufficient to press her, and she could not fully disengage. Not at first, in any case—finally an excellent dodge and riposte put her foe off-balance, and Sakura quickly flanked him, bringing her sword up and then down in a killing stroke.

But Sydonay managed to turn and bring his polearm stabbing up to intercept the sword. Yume no Musôka simply began to pass through it…but Sydonay had not been trying to catch the attack. Heedless of the sword coming his way, he pushed forward, exerting all his power and slamming the point into Sakura even as her sword bit into his shoulder.

He released all his power into the stab, creating a blast of energy that blew through Sakura and left her dying form hanging in the air for just a moment, her sword falling away and body turning limp….

And then both body and sword were gone. Sydonay stared after her in surprise, briefly wondering if this were in any way normal for his strange opponent…and Sakura put a hand calmly on his back. " _Hidô_ 88: Megaflare," she intoned, and the blast of cosmic energy engulfed Sydonay, sending him hurtling downward. He collapsed onto an asteroid amidst an explosion of dust, and when it cleared he was revealed there in his human guise, gasping on hands and knees, with Sakura floating above him in the air.

He glared up at her. "How!?" he demanded. "I felt my blade score…I felt you die. That was no clone, no substitution…I landed a deathblow on your real, flesh and blood body! So how…!?"

"Well, spiritual flesh and blood, to be precise, although it makes little difference to creatures like you," Sakura corrected him. "But yes, you did…although that flesh and blood body was only a dream, after all. All I am is a dream anyway…and this is Yume no Musôka's power. Right now, all of this is part of my Yumekei, my 'Dreamscape', and every individual, every event is part of my dream. It takes power, certainly, but I can manipulate the dream as I desire, even if it means overruling death…including my own. You did kill me once, but in doing so you essentially suffered two enormous wounds. In that condition, can you do it again…or a third time…or however many it might take before the dream finally ends…?"

Sydonay, growling in rage, transformed instantly into a huge serpent and darted away, moving impossibly fast. Sakura glanced after him, smiling slightly. "Well…in this situation, it's not worth pursuing. He's not the objective, and not worth any more sacrifices or expenditures of power. Nagi is the only one we need…if we can get him, it's all over…."

8-8-8

Hinagiku blocked the strike from that armored appendage, but the force of it sent her flying backwards with a cry. She let her feet hit the ground and drove her sword into the rock below her, using it to slow down her retreat. With surprising speed the monster came back at her and smashed down its fist again, but she darted forward in a rolling leap to avoid the blow.

She hit, rolled over several times, came to her feet, whirled to face her foe…and there it was once again, already moving to smash her. This time she preempted it, slashing across hard with Shirozakura and sending the beast staggering backward.

She dodged backward again before it could resume its charge. "This is…surprising," she muttered to Kamo, who was, amazingly, riding her shoulder this entire time, hanging on for dear life (as the expression goes). "I can tell…this thing is more powerful than any foe I've faced, except maybe those two arrancar that nearly killed Kaji- _kun_ and me. But even though it's not easy…I am fighting on par with it…and I feel that, since in _this_ life I haven't had all that training, my overall power should be weaker…."

"You're not wrong," Kamo commented as she continued battling the monster. "You don't have the magical reserves on your own nor the magic-enhanced conditioning you developed from all those months of training, but you do have one advantage—an entire pool of magic from the contract. You see, really, it's kinda like a credit account—creating the contract creates a kind of magical credit line the master and disciple share, and each new person added to the account increases the credit but also the number of people who have to draw from it. And, of course, that credit limit increases over time, as the master and disciples strengthen their own magical reserves, as the bond of the contract deepens, other factors, of course. Even though for you and the rest of the girls the contracts no longer really exist, as far as Kain and I are concerned—and the nature of magic itself—all that power is still out there, in effect. But since Kain doesn't have any other contracts at the moment, you're the only person drawing from it. With all those contracts, all that training, and all that inflation from Kain's double-immortal status…you have a pretty hefty reserve to draw on. It's definitely what's keeping you in this fight."

"Good to know," Hinagiku grunted. "So I can keep going without fear!" With a cry, she met and repulsed another blow from the monster, throwing it off-balance, and moved in to counterattack. She threw herself into it, attacking relentlessly in an effort to batter through its tough skin and strong magical defenses, and also to keep it from retaliating. It was mostly working—each blow seemed to drive it further and further back, and managed to preempt it each time it tried to strike back.

Finally it dodged one savage attack by suddenly curling up into a ball and springing high into the air. It came down almost instantly, trying to crush Hinagiku, but she dodged back and, as it bounced back uncurled and came at her again, she met it with a side kick that pushed it away. Then she leapt at it, bringing her sword down in a savage overhead _endo_ swing, right on top of its misshapen head.

There was a solid and wince-inducing _crack_ as the blade connected, driving its face down into the rock and splaying it out. Hinagiku stepped back and readied herself, but it seemed unmoving. Just as she relaxed, however, sighing and lowering her sword, it suddenly surged to life again and came at her with one desperate clawed slash….

But a spear of light impaled it from above, driving it back into the ground and causing it to thrash its limbs desperately like a wounded insect. The next instant Kain was there, holding the spear, and it pulsed with power, causing greater spasms throughout the creature's form. Then it stopped, fell unmoving, and began to disintegrate, and Kain withdrew his spear before causing it to vanish. He sighed with relief and smiled at Hinagiku. "Not bad. These were tougher foes than we were used to—probably the home guard from the Obsidian Star he never had a chance to bring in the last time. But now…."

"That's right," Sakura agreed as she and Minoru joined the pair (trio). "Some way or other, the Prince has taken enough power to call in his greatest servants from his old home." She turned to Minoru and saw him favoring that increasingly bloody side. "Oh…that looks terrible. Allow me." She raised her sword—still in its invisible released state—and intoned, spinning it once in her hand, "Awaken, Yume no Musôka." There was a ripple of reality, and Minoru was suddenly, by all appearances, untouched.

"Thank you," he said with a sigh as Sakura resealed and sheathed her sword.

Kain, however, was still focused on what Sakura had said. "This power—does that mean he's already acquired…Mai…the Crystal Princess?"

Sakura shook her head. "I don't think so. If he had, I think that the last vestiges of resistance against him would have already crumbled. Of course, I can't say for sure." She glanced up and pointed at the floating city above them. "I think, first of all, we should go ahead and hop up there and have a little chat with our friends in the Resistance."

8-8-8

They alighted onto the outermost edge of the floating city, which was already thronged with warriors of varied origin, type and skills. Kain set Hinagiku down first, and only then turned his attention to regard the audience.

Before he could take any of it in, a blessedly familiar voice cried out, "You! What do you think you're doing here!?"

The small black-robed figure came flashing in, sword swinging. Kain reached out and casually caught the blade in his hand. "Well," he murmured. "Hello to you, too, Momo."

Momo Hinamori wore her hair once again in its bun, and on her arm she wore the badge of a lieutenant. Her face was hard and glaring as she struggled with her sword. "You've decided to brazenly invade by the very front gate, Obsidian Prince!?" the _hinigami_ howled. "Even for such as you, that's beyond arrogant!"

"W-wait! Momo- _chan_!" Hinagiku interrupted desperately. "This isn't the Prince! It's our teacher! Ah, but you obviously don't remember that…."

Momo's anger froze in surprise as she took in Hinagiku's presence. "Hinagiku- _kaichô_ …? But…what are you doing here…!?"

"As Hina says, I'm not the Prince, Momo." Kain released her sword, and she fell back, keeping her guard up, wary, but subdued by her surprise.

"You do look a little young for that," admitted a new, also familiar voice…and the warriors parted to show Lina Inverse, a hand raised and a spell prepared and pointed at the invaders. "But, who are you, then? And what's with the other three? The girl Momo recognizes aside…what's with this _hinigami_ captain that looks like her?"

This brought Momo up short, and she finally took in the other two visitors…especially Sakura, who smiled and waved at her. As Momo stared in shocked confusion, Lina turned her attention back to Kain. "You, especially…I can believe you're not the Prince, but you _are_ a _mazoku_ …so what's your story, then?"

" _Mazoku_?" Kain murmured. "Ah…I must have let too much of that power out during the last battle. Still not used to being part _mazoku_ yet." He shook his head. "Lina Inverse…it's good to finally start seeing people I recognize. Anyway, our story is a long one, and I'd rather not repeat it. If you take us to whoever is leading this outfit, we can discuss everything all at once."

"…That sounds suspicious…" Lina began.

"You can trust them, Miss Lina." She started as a shadow warped itself into a humanoid figure floating in the air above her—Xellos, the Roguish Priest. He smiled at Kain through half-open eyelids. "Trust me, if there is any man in this world who is on your side, it is this boy. Dear Momo- _chan_ can vouch for him, too, if she thinks about it…or at least if she notices the fifth member of this little invasion force."

Momo, newly shocked, finally noticed the white ermine on Hinagiku's shoulder. "Yo!" Kamo greeted her.

"K-Kamo- _san_!?"

Lina stood still a moment longer, then released her spell and turned away. "…Tch. Fine. Trust doesn't come easily in days like these…but we'll hear what you have to say. Get a move on and don't dawdle!"

8-8-8

Gourry Gabriev was there, flanking Lina the whole time as the guarded procession made its way for the Orimus Palace. Rukia was amongst the leaders of the _shinigami_ soldiers that were on guard, but she had not reacted as violently or emotionally to Kain's presence as Momo had. Even Zelgadis was lurking in the background…overall, there were enough familiar faces present to give Kain some small comfort.

The guard diminished in number, and finally Kain and his new party were brought into a kind of war room by Lina, Gourry, Momo and Rukia. And therein….

Seated was a man just crossing the threshold between middle and old age, dressed in a heavy duster, several days unshaven and gray streaking his black hair. Delryn stood next to him, and Kain recognized Artoria on the other side. Next to her was Kurt Gödel, and next to him, wearing an eye patch over one eye but no hat, was Shunsui Kyôraku.

The two groups surveyed each other warily. Artoria broke the silence. "It seems we just had some fireworks going off outside," she commented. "I…assume you four were the origin of that…?"

"That's right," Kain agreed. "Let me begin by introducing myself. I am Kain Dremmond Lockeheart. I am the son of Kalan Dremmond Lockeheart and Aeli Valencia Kanna. No need to introduce yourselves in turn…I know all of you quite well. Kyôraku Shunsui- _taichô_ of the Seireitei. Kurt Gödel, senator of Halteese. Artoria Pendragon, Queen of Avalon. Delryn Rylack…and you look quite different, but you must Aiden Rylack."

"But, that's not possible!" protested Kurt. "True, there were absurd rumors of a child, but they were just that—rumors. No trace was ever found that it was true. Were it so, someone on that side—Mira, Takamichi, Harold—someone would have contacted the other Red Wings. Even if I was kept out of the loop for acceptable reasons, Artoria at least would have been told…."

"It's true, Four-Eyes," snickered Kamo, leaping down onto the table. "Trust someone with a little more knowledge than all of that."

"Indeed, it is true," Xellos declared, once again manifesting in the air behind the table. "Although in fact, both points are true—Kalan and Aeli Lockeheart both did not and did have a son."

"Would you mind explaining that one, you crazy priest?" Lina cursed at him.

"What we have here is an attack on reality," Xellos said. "We are the victims of a change in our history…although, truthfully, the victim of the attack is the boy here, Kain Lockeheart. He comes originally from a world where, it should be needless to say, he does exist. However, an enemy stole his existence from this time-plane, relegating all of us to a universe where he has never walked, nor had any influence on the world."

"Hmm." Shunsui massaged his chin. "I think I get it. Removing one person from reality, from existence, or rather from the past can have a cascade effect on how the world turns out—but most importantly, those of us who are native to this world won't remember him at all, since he 'never existed'. But the spirit ermine there and a _mazoku_ , who exist outside of mortals' reality…you remember him, is that it?"

"That's how it is," Kamo agreed. "I met up with him as a kid when I came back searching for Kalan, and officially signed on to help him once he turned fourteen, graduated from Caelar U, and came over to Mahora to be _(snicker)_ an English Teacher. After that…well, over the past year, we've had a helluva time and more adventures than you can count, but in the end…."

"English teacher…at Mahora?" Momo said. "Wait, for our class? Is that why Hina- _kaichô_ is here…?" She regarded Hinagiku curiously. "But…you shouldn't remember that world either, should you…?"

"W-well, I didn't…until Kamo tricked me…that is…" Hinagiku sputtered, reddening and looking away.

"She remembered it when we renewed her contract," Kamo said gleefully.

The adults all raised eyebrows at this comment while Hinagiku began to panic. "You…made a contract with him…?" Momo asked in surprise.

"Only after you did!"

"W-wha…!? Me…!?"

"Enough with the comedy, please," Kain sighed. "The point is, I'm a stranger…really, all four of us are at the moment. Speaking of which…." He introduced Sakura and Minoru, briefly but politely. "I wouldn't even be here if they hadn't come to help me. They're _shinigami_ , but a special kind, which is why none of you are familiar with them. Now, getting back to what's important…what's happened to Mai…to the Crystal Princess?"

The group exchanged glances. Then Artoria said curiously, "That sounded like you're rather close to the girl…."

"In my real life, I was the teacher for class 3-A. I spent nearly a year with them, and the majority of them helped me on my adventures. They are all precious to me…and Mai was my first comrade, ally, and true friend in that group. Her importance goes beyond being the lynchpin of the Obsidian Star's plans. Please…what happened to her?"

Again silence greeted him, and this time it was Delryn who spoke first. "Well, if he's so concerned, why don't we just show him? I'd like to see the reaction—right now, it might make all of this sound a little more believable."

General consent greeted this suggestion, with Aiden observing his son approvingly. They rose, and Artoria took the lead, motioning for Kain and the rest to follow her.

To Kain's surprise, it was Rukia who first approached him as they wandered through the halls. "So…you're really his son?" she murmured. Kain nodded stiffly. "Hmm. From the attitude and demeanor of yourself and your friends…it seems this world is far more…displeasing than the one you came from?"

"You could say that," Kain murmured, but loud enough for all there to overhear. "To put it very simply, we won…we utterly destroyed the Obsidian Star. Now it's all been undone. It's terrible."

"We're here," Artoria declared, stopping by the throne room door. She gestured, and it opened. "Go in for yourself now, and see."

Kain hesitated, wondering at the comment. He had asked what had happened to Mai…that meant that she was likely inside, safe, which would be far better than her being in the Obsidian Star's hands. But…?

Fearing the worst, he stepped inside…and froze in shock. There she was, sitting on the throne of Orimus…but it wasn't her. It was her body, but the posture was drooped, the stance that of an unused toy. He cautiously took a step forward, then another, too afraid to cry out, and her head suddenly rose up to stare at him. A light came into her eyes…but it wasn't strictly a human light. It was calculating, searching, but the gaze of a robot, a computer, not a human being.

"Seed of Kanev, the royal family," she murmured. "Spirit of magic. Heart of _mazoku_. Blood of Lockeheart. You may approach."

With trepidation, Kain did so. Mai's empty gaze continued to follow him. Finally, as he neared the throne, she declared, "Stop." She gazed at him, her unmoving eyes simply staring. "What do you seek? Declare yourself."

"…Is that really you, Mai?" Kain asked, knowing but fearing the answer.

"This one is Mai Alusia Hairen Takiva, the Crystal Princess. This one is the Throne of Orimus, the last defense against the Obsidian Star. You—seed of Kanev, spirit of magic, heart of _mazoku_ , blood of Lockeheart—who are you?"

Kain took a few moments before answering, pondering this response. _I see. There is no Mai left. When they attacked Mahora before, they didn't technically know anything about the Crystal Princess being there—but something must have happened. Something triggered 'her' before they were really ready for her…and Tokiha Mai was consumed. This is…exactly what she would have become, for all eternity, if she had gone into the Crystal Throne again to stave off the world's destruction…if my father hadn't taken her place…._

"I am as you perceive. Son of Kalan and Aeli. A being reborn by magic, and further reconstructed against my will into an Infernal. But I am the destroyer of the Obsidian Star…and I will destroy this world of darkness they've created and once again completely end them. And I'll bring you back—the real you back."

Mai continued to stare at him. Then she lowered her head. "This one understands enough. Go now—do not distract our attention from our duty further."

After several long moments, Kain bowed, stepped back, then turned on his heel and started for the exit. Almost instinctively, he waved as soon as he was through the doors, closing them. He gazed around at the stunned faces. "What was that?" he said with a smile. "Some sort of test? Why don't you explain to me what's going on?"

Again glances were exchanged, and finally everyone turned to look at Momo. She started. "M-me!?"

"You're the only one among us who was at Mahora when it happened, Hinamori- _kun_ ," Shunsui said kindly. "You're the one who can tell it best, aren't you?"

Momo looked like a scared rabbit, but she sighed and gathered her composure with an intake of breath. "It happened…during the School Festival in the summer. They attacked without warning…we thought at first that they were after Mai, but they had another objective. They didn't know she was there…not at first. They went for her only once she was recognized…and we all fought for her. Then…Takahata- _sensei_ …Takamichi- _kun_ …he gave his life protecting her. It…snapped something inside of her. No, not something…it woke 'that' up. The Crystal Princess. Mai's personality was consumed by it, and it struck against the Obsidian Star, managed to drive them away. The Obsidian Star had attacked and shattered all the Gates to Arcanus Myrror at the same moment, but Mai used her powers to cross over to Orimus…she came here, purely on instinct, and set herself on that throne."

"The Obsidian Star's been pushing an offensive against us ever since," commented Aiden. "They've ravaged most of the world of Arcanus Myrror as they've been preparing their ritual…but they have to gain control of the mana-space around Orimus here, and Mai—the Crystal Princess—she's been devoting her power almost blindly to preventing that. But it's been getting worse and worse for us…we've been losing people all this time. Half the captains of Seireitei have already been killed, most of the Knights of the Round, whole guilds of mages and armies of warriors and wizards from all the nations. We're about at the end of our rope—Mai's power still prevents them from coming easily into the city, but it's pretty clear it won't be enough."

Kain nodded. "I see…I guess that's the only thing saving all of you right now, isn't it? I assume what they got in the initial assault was the Mana Seed?" Kain's question was confirmed, and he turned back and explained to Hinagiku, "Back in the other world, while we were in the Palace, the ceremony joined the space in Orimus they controlled to Mahora, and they were sending forces down to attack the school. What they were after is the Mana Seed—the last one."

"Ah, that's right," Hinagiku said, recalling what she had learned about Arcanus Myrror and the related facts during her trip. "When the Celestial Elodos created Arcanus Myrror, he gave out thirteen Mana Seeds to the mages of Earth, asking them to plant the trees to help maintain the magical balance between the two worlds…twelve were planted, but one was left ready in case of an emergency…the fulfillment of a prophecy, or something." She frowned. "Was it really that important…?"

"Not to carrying out the ceremony at the time," Kain agreed. "It was simply a bonus prize they wanted—if they could get their hands on it before the worlds were joined, they could have used it during their rebuild. Now it's a little more serious—since they don't have the Crystal Princess, and she instead is fighting against them, even with Aeli Kanna and the Obsidian Heart they can't complete the ceremony. But with the Mana Seed, they have…really, I'm not sure just what they're doing with it. There's a lot of different things they could be doing, but all of them are very bad for us. Considering the power of the welcoming committee we got…even just bringing in a lot more reinforcements like that would be bad." He turned his attention back to his hosts. "Well, I asked before if that was a test, but I guess I've figured it out—the Crystal Princess, acting on autopilot, probably doesn't even let anyone disturb her, right? But she did recognize me as a seed of Kanev, validating my claim as the son of Kalan and Aeli."

"That's pretty much it," Lina agreed. "So why don't you fill us in on exactly what you're doing here…and what you plan to do with all this information you have?"

Kain smiled. "Well, let me put it simply. I can't claim sole responsibility for it, and the fact that we're even in this mess proves I fouled it up by not being more thorough, but here's the basics—we won. We destroyed the Obsidian Star in my original world, wiped out every last trace of them—except for the one called Nagi Homura, current ruler of Hueco Mundo. Because he tied himself to that plane, he didn't die with the Star. He acquired an artifact that allowed him to erase my existence, thereby creating this world. My goal and purpose is to track him down, kill him, and destroy that artifact—if I do, I will get my life back, my world back, and all of this will be done away. It won't ever have happened."

"Heh." Delryn chuckled. "So, a hero and savior appears, and his solution is basically just to destroy our world, huh?"

"People say I'm selfish, but if that's the plan, I agree with it," Lina said. "An entire world has already been destroyed, and who cares about philosophy like whether the you in this world is the exact same soul as the you in that world? If we have to choose between two, I'd rather not choose the one where everything's gone to hell." She fixed a hard stare on Kain. "However, I would like to know…I'm not dead in that world, am I? Or have you even met me?"

Kain chuckled. "I know you real well, Lina. You've known me longer than anyone, and you are most assuredly not dead. You're just as infamous and powerful and renowned as I'm sure you are here."

"Infamous…?"

Kain turned his attention back to his hosts once again. "Well, Delryn has a good point—in a way, my quest is a selfish desire to end this world so I can reclaim my own. But I don't care if you have a problem with that or not. There is far too much at stake here…so tell me right now, will you help me, or hinder?"

Again, glances were exchanged, and this time wry smiles. "Well, he certainly takes after his father," Kurt noted. "And the stubbornness of his mother, too. No, the good of the world, whichever world, takes precedence. There's no hope for this one anyway."

"Obviously, there's no choice but to help you," Shunsui agreed. "It's not only what's best for you, this is the only chance we have. We're with you…son of Lockeheart."

F I N

 _Author's Note: The War Commences_

 _It's kind of sad, but in some ways, some small ways, certain changes in Kain's history, him not being there do reduce the number of possible tragedies…it takes them longer to get their hands on the Crystal Princess, for instance, since their attention isn't drawn her direction due to all these domino effects. Still, most everything goes wrong, and even the old Aiden is a symbol of this—obviously, although I never really had a chance in the chapter to note it specifically, Aiden did get killed in this world and used his Touch of the Grail, but in this world he ended up with a far older body, rather than a younger one._

 _Well, the initial fights involved two characters I made up and two I stole. Sydonay and Sabrac are both two of the most powerful members of Balle Masque in Shakugan no Shana, and made excellent super-powerful god/demon opponents to be of the 'Obsidian Lord' level, the most powerful servants of the Obsidian Star. They were all brought in to show off some initial combat, particularly for Sakura and even more particularly Minoru. The other two? Just a couple of random villains I conjured out of nowhere._

 _Otherwise, this is a really hard section to write, because there's a lot of weird thoughts and emotions that arise from the meetings of these two clashing realities. Who would speak first? What attracts their attention? What points need to be addressed? Kain Lockeheart is so prominent, for example, just in the minds of all these people in so many ways that these two stranger_ shinigami _captains just kind of fall by the wayside, currently unimportant. I even noted that in the chapter, when Kain hurriedly introduces them, but…but what can I do to easily introduce them? This kid is_ Kain Lockeheart _. He's the son the two heroes never had, but now he's real, and he's in the middle of this chaos, and HE WANTS ANSWERS. What can you do?_

 _Anyway, it'll get easier once we get into the heavy battles. So, let's get moving on…._


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Four: The Enemy

Nagi materialized in the main control room. He glanced around in interest. "Your Highness?" Then he spotted him standing over something and flitted over. He gazed down in surprise. It was….

It was the Remnant of Pakrov Eminus, or perhaps the remnant of the Remnant. Eminus lay there, a hole blasted open in his chest, and he began to evaporate even as Nagi watched him. Nagi chuckled in a disturbingly calm voice. "Well. How brutal. What did he do to deserve that?"

"Nothing," the Prince said simply. "At least, nothing in this reality. But I'm not going to give him the opportunity to betray me again. That danger outweighs his current usefulness."

"But what about his ladies?" Nagi pressed. "They likely won't take kindly to you disposing of their lord…."

Wordlessly, the Prince raised a hand and showed a dark purple gem. A dull malevolent light pulsed from within it. "Already taken care of. This time, they will be of some use to me."

"What about Alvaris?"

The Prince pocketed the gem. "The little rat has already scuttled. It seems he'd decided to cut all ties with us even before I acted against his precious pets; perhaps in that alternate reality, Kain Lockeheart has done something to convince him, and he wants no part of us any longer. Not that it matters. Asakura Ryoko has returned, and is already hard at work rebuilding Cosmo Entelecheia. Victory is not wholly seized, but it is within our grasp.

"I must thank you, Nagi…your incredible actions have pulled me from the depths of nothingness and the abyss and given me a second chance. If not for that device, everything would be over, destroyed at the hands of that brat. It's a shame that the artifact is imperfect, however; only now, at this time, do our minds awaken to the old reality and our old memories, or rather, perhaps our personalities are only reconstructed with half-true memories at this moment. If we could have maintained all our previous knowledge a year ago or even six months ago…."

"That is true," Nagi agreed, "but it's not the way it works; as you say, it may be flawed, but it is a mortal creation and has to operate within the laws of causality in this world. The world is therefore re-written as a parallel plane where Kain Lockeheart did not exist, and the moment of his 'disappearance' those of us with greater knowledge beyond the worlds can recall this previous universe up to its end, and Kain Lockeheart himself, his fleeting remaining existence, has appeared in this world. Speaking of which…."

"I know. He has come here. Naturally, he isn't going to take the destruction of his world, his life, his everything lying down." The Prince smiled cruelly. "Let him come. This time we are far better prepared." His smile fled almost immediately. "But those that came with him—who are they? They seemed like Soul Reaper captains, but I thought that we had already taken care of all but the scraps of them…."

"Well, the girl was in the previous world—she called herself Sanada Sakura and integrated herself into Kain's class at school a full two years before he took it over. She was playing some game with him at the Festival, and, well, chased me off before that, really. There's something very eerie about her—I think she possesses some significant powers over time and space. In fact, I don't think Kain even could have made it over here without her interference…at least not soon enough to make any difference. Without his cloak, without Gates, he should have been quite stranded back on Earth…."

"What about the other one, the male?"

"Don't know anything about him, but he seems strong."

The Prince nodded. "Yes…he would have to be, to best Sabrac, and so easily. So Kain and his two new friends are certainly a threat…and he'll be coming here soon."

Dynamis flowed into existence near the Prince. "If that is so…then the resistance forces will make a strike with them, yes?"

"They'll have to," the Prince agreed. "If Kain manages to convince them of any part of the truth of his story—and his face and insightful memories and knowledge should be more than enough—they'll know that this is their only hope of survival, or at least of preventing my victory. The Crystal Princess' determined efforts have protected the main island of the capital, but that is only because it is as advantageous to us to wait as it is to strike. Our power builds, and they know that their best efforts are doing nothing more than stalling us. They will have to use the opportunity created by Kain Lockeheart's arrival to strike, and they don't have the power to even annoy us unless they dedicate the remainder of their forces to the cause."

Dynamis tensed in expectation. "Then…the palace will be virtually undefended, yes? I shall put together an assault force to take it as soon as their forces are committed…."

"No, Dynamis," the Prince denied, cutting him off with a shake of his head and a wave of his arm. "There will be no assault—not until after they are totally crushed and Kain Lockeheart lies broken at my feet. This is not a normal game of chess—each of us has our king: their side, the Crystal Princess, and our side, the Essence-Thief. But in this case, even if we capture their king first, they will be able to chase ours until the last pawn is taken. If the Essence-Thief is destroyed, reality will return to its previous state and we will all be vanquished without the most pathetic whimper, and capturing Mai again will not prevent that. Therefore, we must utterly crush every insect that assaults us without hesitation or any games. We will not let the smallest ant past us to threaten our victory—and our lives. This time, the Obsidian Star will not fall."

Dynamis bowed, crossing a hand across his chest. "As his Majesty wishes." Then he swirled into blackness and faded away.

The Prince stared after him for a moment before returning his gaze to Nagi. "Once the battle commences, Nagi, you must enter the Crystal Throne and remain there until the battle finishes. No location will be more secure. You must absolutely not see danger, no matter how slight, for the risk is far, far too great."

"I am pleased that you are so concerned for my safety," Nagi chuckled, bowing. "But it is as you say; I'm well aware of how important this item I carry is; it is very much our fragile lifeline. Ah, it's a shame I can't retreat to Hueco Mundo with it; that would likely put it out of reach, but taking it to that plane of spiritual matter would likely have…disastrous consequences. I shall keep the princess company in the Crystal Throne, as you command." He gave his own bow, then faded away.

The Prince nodded, then turned to address empty air. "Sabrac. Sydonay. Maerk. Theraton. Shavage. Lokmir. Altaune. Heravox. Xzart. Orzan. Pryam. Auldice. Ver'Tavix. Parvier. Waurel. Egleice. Rauml. Torbane. Yaster. Ultrix. Illifar. Ouchan. Parkz. Novann." Twenty-four figures used various methods to materialize before their Prince, crowding the chamber. The Prince surveyed them all. "My greatest Obsidian Lords…we will all remain here as the last line of defense. There will be no games, no attempts to duel our deadly foes one-on-one. Every enemy that makes it this far will be smashed completely by our full power. None can challenge us…none will survive."

The various Lords, in their varied and unique appearances, bowed practically as one and addressed their Prince in one voice: "Yes, Your Highness!"

8-8-8

"There was a disturbance earlier," Legretta murmured, staring out the window towards the floating city opposite them. "Four Lords were sortied…and I believe only two returned." She turned back to the room's only other occupant. "Is there something going on, Commander?"

Van sat in a chair by the desk, his arms crossed, tapping one finger against one arm. "Something…perhaps. Lorelei tells me that the world has changed…been altered, somehow. It's hard to say if it's for the better or not. Lorelei itself is just a fragment, so it can't tell me anything more. But that earlier altercation…."

"That was the arrival of Kain Lockeheart," a new voice interjected.

Van turned to the door and stairs as the figure approached. "Koltas…."

Koltas Corai joined Legretta by the window and stared out of it. "Kain Lockeheart, son of Kalan Lockeheart, has come to destroy us…again, perhaps."

"The son of Lockeheart?" Van demanded. "I thought he never left any progeny…."

"He didn't…not in this world." Koltas sighed. "I wonder…it seems that the 'altering of reality' you sense is for our benefit. Here in this world, there was no son of Lockeheart, no one to carry on his crusade once the Prince possessed his flesh. But in another universe, his son arose, made himself an impediment to us…and utterly destroyed us. This is…our second chance, I suppose."

"We were defeated…by one boy?" Legretta scoffed. "Kain Lockeheart would be a child of no more than fourteen years of age, perhaps fifteen at the most. Our advantage is insurmountable…they have lost half of their greatest warriors, Soul Reaper Captains, Crown HiME, Knights of the Round, all the rest. The only reason we haven't finished them off is the interference of the Crystal Princess, and even then only because his Highness is unusually cautious…."

"But remember, Kalan Lockeheart was ten years old when he began his war against the Obsidian Star," Van reminded her. "And he was little older than fourteen himself when he finished it. Still, it's hard to imagine one boy changing so much, even if he does have his father's potential and the blood of the royal family…."

"One individual is limited," Koltas admitted. "No matter how magnificent, no one human can do all by himself; even Kalan Lockeheart had his Red Wings. But one individual can move mountains by causing small avalanches. I can't see all those paths, but the little directions Kain Lockeheart steered the course of destiny caused quite a reversal. And now he's come here, to a world untouched by his presence. How, or why…I cannot discern. But the Prince has reason to be concerned and cautious…this will be our final test, our final stage. If we overcome him, there is nothing left that can possibly challenge us. But that boy, alone, could still prove our doom…."

The Prince's voice suddenly boomed out throughout the fortress: " _Awaken and ready yourselves, all of you. Prepare for battle…the pathetic resistance will soon launch a last-ditch attempt to defeat us. They are weak, but there is real threat in this advance. If we can defeat them, total victory will be ours at last, but do not relax—we must not allow the enemy to come to the Crystal Throne. Fight well and conquer, and we shall finally sup on the glories promised us._ "

They stared up at the ceiling out of habit, and waited several seconds until after the voice was silenced before their attention broke. "Well…so the entire rebel force will immediately throw their whole fate behind the arrival of this Kain Lockeheart?" Van laughed appreciatively. "Truthfully, I could not blame them. With no other hope, the sudden appearance of one carrying their hero's blood would inspire them. Well…let the battle come. It shall be far more interesting than anything else that has happened over these past weeks…."

8-8-8

Dist glanced towards the ceiling and gave a snort of derision. He was a somewhat disturbing sight, his left side seeming armored—or constructed of metal. "A 'dangerous battle'? It means nothing, in any case. Let the fools come…the end is inevitable…."

"A rather fatalistic view," noted Horius as he entered the dark, decrepit chamber. "Especially for one who is on the winning side."

"Winning? Losing?" Dist scoffed. "Neither means anything now…."

"Come now…you should show a little gratitude and _bon esprit_. I did salvage what I could of your body after that fiasco with your puppet. That set us back tremendously…."

Dist finally lifted his head to flash a look of anger Horius' way. The man simply raised his hands to the side and shrugged demonstrably. "As you wish…but you should really look on the bright side. Even if your Replication experiments failed to restore your beloved teacher, you still will be able to experience a world with her…even _build_ a world with her, through Cosmo Entelecheia."

"What do I care about a dream?" Dist growled. "It is reality, science, that is my master, my wish, my love, my treasure! If my science cannot restore her, if all my efforts are wasted, why should I care that I'll see some silly vision of her?"

Horius shrugged again. "As you like. But you have been of use to us in enabling us to achieve these goals. Therefore, you, too, will experience the joy of Cosmo Entelecheia…and we will be kind enough to erase your memories of any previous world."

He left Dist's chamber, shutting the door behind him, and glanced up to Kalovus. "Well?" Horius demanded. "What have you learned of this strange new intruder?"

"Oh…much," Kalovus murmured. "He is powerful…upon his arrival, no, a little predating his actual transference into this world, the Prince sent four Lords out to meet and smash him…and he and his companions crushed the four utterly. Sabrac and Sydonay managed to flee with their lives, but they were in terrible shape, and the other two were subdued…rather easily."

Horius narrowed his eyes. "New foes that powerful have arrived…and yet he simply eliminated the Remnant and his forces off-hand? Not that I ever cared for that stone-faced brat, but still…what are you grinning about?"

"The new arrival is a Lockeheart…Kain, son of Kalan."

Horius narrowed his eyes. "And why has there been no word that such a being even existed!?"

"Oh, wait, please—it's better than that."

Kalovus explained in detail to his brother most of what he had learned, which was most of the facts of their new reality. "Really…" Horius murmured after Kalovus had finished, rubbing his chin thoughtfully…hungrily. "The son of Lockeheart and Kanna…and with a demonic heart already integrated into him? Chillingly dangerous…but also such an opportunity. Even a corpse would suffice for study…from that, I could build…."

"Hopefully, a new cloned body for our Prince," Kalovus finished. "And after that, the sky's the limit. I, myself, am more interested in that device Nagi used to enable all of this…apparently we were all saved from an already-meted-out destruction thanks to that. I wonder what else I could do with it…."

"Well, we each have our projects." Horius nodded, a vicious grin on his face. "It's been rather boring of late, with this stand-off, waiting for the fools in Orimus to grind themselves down before our forces. This finale…will yield treasures that will make it all worth it."

"And after that, Cosmo Entelecheia and the new Obsidian Star," agreed Kalovus. "The anticipation is palpable…but first, we must survive the coming battle. As our Prince noted, the risk is great—if Kain Lockeheart and his new companions could deal so easily with four of our greatest champions, it will take all of our forces to bring him down."

"Then we will use all. Let's hold nothing back…all the experiments and treasures we've been saving, now is the time to use them…."

8-8-8

The Prince stepped out onto the balcony that surrounded the top of the western tower, giving the best view of the 'rival' floating city across from Eldrant. "This is the finale," he murmured. "You defeated me once, Kain Lockeheart…after your father destroyed my dreams and my original body. Now, this third time, as you humans say, is the charm. Let's see if you have the resolve and power to break me when your allies are weak and broken, when you have no support, when my own armada is strengthened and prepared for you. This will be the final chapter in deciding the fate that lies between these two worlds. Come, then…and dash your desperate body to pieces against these stones…."

8-8-8

 _Author's Note: Short Chapter_

 _I'm a little undecided about this Act…I have the 'main' script all carefully planned and prepared, the intro we've seen, and the ending, but the middle is, like most of 5, 6, 15 and 16, essentially nothing but a continuous string of battles, all the little fights in this great final war with the Obsidian Star. This is the most in-flux of all my Acts thus far; I could blaze through and likely finish it in record time, by 30,000 words (about 8,000 more) or so…or I could stretch this out, show them re-blowing up many Obsidian Star leaders such as those I highlighted here, include most or even all the fights, and make this a long epic Act._

 _I'm torn over it. I don't want it to be_ too _short, but despite my determination to place all this together in this fashion, I don't want to dwell on too many of the battles too much, nor do I want to even merely highlight the great amount of battles we're about to see in this desperate final encounter. I feel leery of doing so again so soon after the prolonged, nearly unending string of battles from the middle of Act 14 through Act 16. Well, the battles might be a nice change of pace, too, after the insanity and hijinks of Act 17, but still, since it's more Obsidian Star right after we wiped out the Obsidian Star…._

 _We'll see how I can stretch it without being absurd, or, worse, the Naruto anime. I have some fallbacks if necessary._

 _In any case, this little interim chapter was quite short. I wanted to take a moment to highlight the Obsidian Star and show some of their conditions—the Prince can recall the previous world, so he wipes out Eminus and his forces so they can't betray him. Horius, Kalovus, and Koltas all survived their battles and still exist as separate entities. Dynamis is still around, as are Van and Legretta (as a side note, Arietta died earlier in this universe, as well). Dist still tried to revive Professor Nebilim and failed, nearly getting killed in the process and losing all hope and drive afterwards, so he'll be of no use. I didn't get to the few arrancar left, but that's okay—there are only three remaining, and we'll get to them soon enough. So overall, the Obsidian Star is in great shape, and they even have some of their greatest champions they never had the power to bring over before (of course, Kain & Co. have already dealt with a couple of them). They're also rather confused about this new reality—for them, it's the only reality, for most, at least. It's one of the reasons this chapter is so short—as I say, I could have hit a few more familiar and semi-familiar faces, even visited some of these Lords in more detail, but (1) they would have been thinking most of the same things the rest of them are—'What is with this new arrival, and why's he scaring the Prince so much?' etc., and (2) why go into a lot of detail about characters who are only going to be (very) temporary villains? So we hit the highlights and transition back._

 _So, here we go…the invasion is about to begin…._


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Five: The Assault

Kain was anxious to get started…but he was brought up short by the hustle that suddenly surrounded him, as soldiers of all nationalities and races materialized in response to a broadcast summons and flowed towards the airports on the island-city. He glanced around at them in surprise as he allowed himself to be swept along with them towards their destination. "This is pretty intense," he noted as he broke out of the group on the grounds of the port and turned to survey them.

"I-it seems a lot more extreme than the last time, when we were heading in to…to rescue you and Mai," Hinagiku noted.

"Of course it's busy," a new voice greeted them.

Kain turned to the speaker. "Hirako Shinji- _san_ ," he greeted Momo's captain.

"Heh." Shinji grinned his wide grin. "So, you have heard of me, huh?" All levity fled his face, and it turned deadly serious. "Momo says you know about us from some 'previous world'…that in that world we won, right?" Kain nodded, and he continued, "I don't know what losses you took over there, but here, it's way too many. We only have a handful of captains left—me, Kyôraku, Ukitake, Soi Fon, Mayuri and Sajin, and that's it…and Ukitake has been sick most of the time and unable to fight, which might be the only reason he's made it, and Mayuri only fights when it suits him. Besides them, we have a handful of lieutenants, and that's all the force you're going to get from us…."

"Hey!" A powerful kick hit him in the back of the knee, causing him to cry out and buckle.

He glared over at his attacker. "Dammit, Hiyori!"

Hiyori was a smaller woman, even shorter than Momo, with freckles, blond hair in two bushy pigtails, a _zanpaku-tô_ slung across her back and an odd red track outfit. "What about the rest of us!?" she shot back, grabbing Shinji by the mouth with both hands and pulling at the corners. "Did becoming a captain again go to your head, or did you just forget the Vizards!?"

Shinji roared in anger and returned the abuse equally, grabbing and pulling at Hiyori's mouth. His retorts were lost in the distortion caused by the actions; but after a few seconds Hiyori spotted Kain fixing them with his bemused stare and backed off, releasing her hold and surveying the young man. "Heh…so you're the Lockeheart kid, huh?" Before he could reply she smirked almost devilishly and pulled at her sword. "So, how tough are you really? Maybe we should find out!"

"Wait, Hiyori!"

She drew her sword and charged in, fast. Kain stepped past her rush and reached a hand out behind him, grabbing her wrist and stopping the swing. "I'm tough enough," he said simply. "Can we leave it at that?"

Hiyori's face held shock for a very brief moment before another smirk of derision crossed her face. "Not bad. Shall we up the difficulty?" She slashed viciously as she turned, breaking his hold on her, and leapt backward. Then she brought a hand up over her face and pulled down…and a white mask, skull- and demon-like with a large central horn on the forehead, manifested in front of her visage. The sclera of her eyes turned black and the yellow pupils were plainly visible through the eye-slits of the mask.

 _That mask…so this is the Vizard's transformation?_ Kain thought. _It's my first time seeing it in person…._

Hiyori opened her maw, and a red globe of energy began to grow in front of it as she began a low, inhuman, guttural scream. The cero fired out at Kain….

When the flaring blast of light finally diminished, Kain was standing there, one hand outstretched, holding the remnants of the cero easily. He closed his hand and the last wisps of energy puffed out and died.

"Heh." Hiyori's mask disintegrated away, leaving her seeming like a human once again. "Yeah, you're not bad…."

Suddenly a man with a large star-shaped afro and dark goggle-like sunglasses brought his fist down on top of Hiyori's head. She crumpled to the ground, both hands holding her injured head, as the man snapped out, "That's really enough, Hiyori. If you have that much energy, save it for the coming battle. You'll need every bit of it."

"Ouch! That hurt!" Hiyori yelled, half-rising and turning to glare at Love with slightly-moist eyes. "What was that for, Love!?"

"Don't make me repeat myself," the man retorted, then turned to Kain. He reached out his hand to Hiyori's head again, and this time forced her to bow with him. "We apologize for this incident." As Kain immediately waved it away, he allowed himself and the girl to rise and surveyed the man more carefully as he was joined by a massive (in all dimensions) man with close-cropped pink hair and a pink moustache and a slender girl with glasses and long black hair in a braid, dressed in a sailor _fuku_. "In any case, we're the Vizards. You've got us here, too."

"And we need the reinforcements." Kain felt a small twinge of relief as Urahara came walking up, dressed as always in his cheap _kimono_ , hat and clogs. "It's not just the Gotei 13 that's been devastated. Artoria- _san_ only has four Knights of the Round left, and for Crown HiME we're down to Midori- _san_ and Mary-Katherin- _san_. All the greatest fighters in the world here, and we can barely go toe-to-toe with the Obsidian Star's token assault forces." He smiled mysteriously. "Do you think you can still succeed in your assault with such a small army?"

Kain stood for just a second, his numb mind mulling over this revelation. He thought about all the names that hadn't been called, all those people who had helped him who must have been killed over the course of this long campaign. The thought of it shook him and caused a wave of sorrow to pass through him, but he shoved it away and regained his composure. If he succeeded, they would all return…as easily as they had gone, they would come back in like manner. "It doesn't matter," Kain insisted. "I would invade that place and destroy it all without any help, even if I were all alone. But I'm more than happy for all the help that you can give me." He bowed to them.

Sakura stepped up next to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "That's right; you're not alone, even so. Even if no one remembers you, they've all put their faith in you. They were all but completely doomed, and now you've given them a sliver of hope."

Kain shrugged, unsure how to respond to that comment. Shinji fixed his gaze on the girl, and the man flanking her. "And…forgive me, but you two…you look like _hinigami_ , but…."

"Well, we are _hinigami_ ," Sakura agreed easily. "It's complicated, but we're captains from a far separate time and place. My _zanpaku-tô_ allows me to travel between planes, times, dimensions, and realities. And through various circumstances, I'm here to help Kain."

"She looks like she could be Bun-Head's sister, or maybe her daughter," noted Hiyori sourly.

Sakura giggled at this, while Minoru clapped his hands to gain everyone's attention. "This is all very well," he murmured. "But perhaps we should get ready to move out…it seems our leaders have just about rallied the offense." He gestured to the airport around them, now nearly empty save for the airships. Then he turned to Hinagiku. "Hinagiku- _san_ , perhaps you should board one of the ships now if you want to join the offensive."

"E-eh!?" Hinagiku looked shocked for a moment. "But…I need to stay with Kain- _sensei_! I'm his disciple, after all…I have to be there to help him get his life, no, our lives back!"

"I'd really appreciate it if you joined the main forces there on one of the ships, Hina," Kain told her. "They could really use your support."

Hinagiku narrowed her eyes at him and folded her arms sternly. "That sounds like you're trying to shelter and protect me, Kain- _sensei_ …keep me out of the worst fighting. Do you really think that I'm someone who'd be happy being treated like that…?"

Kain sighed. "Really, I was trying to give you an easy out…without bringing up your more, ah, sensitive problem." As Hinagiku's face became shocked and she began to slide her arms instinctively up her torso, he continued, "It was hard on you last time, too, Hina…fighting out here in this airspace with all these small floating islands. Sakura and Minoru- _san_ and I are all going to be with the _hinigami_ , fighting in the air. You can't fight up there like that…even if I used magic to make you walk on air with us, you couldn't handle that, could you?"

"O-oh, that…" Hinagiku muttered, her face flushed. "W-well, even so, I-I can…!"

"Could you really?" Kain smiled kindly at her.

She glared at him, then turned away in a huff, as if it were Kain's fault. "Fine. I'll get in one of the ships. As long as it's one that's dropping down on the island directly. I'm not going to sit around uselessly on top of one of those deathtraps."

"I'd recommend the _Camelot_ ," Kisuke offered, pointing at one ship with his cane. "That's Artoria- _san_ 's personal craft, and she'll definitely be leading a main assault with it. But you better be quick…it looks like it's about ready to take off."

Hinagiku did so, and Kain turned and walked to the edge of the island at the far end of the airport. Ships were beginning to rise into the air and set their course towards Eldrant. He gazed out for a moment, then recited:

"Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon in front of them

Volley'd and thunder'd;

Storm'd at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred."

Then Sakura stepped up next to him, Minoru still flanking her, and she added:

"When can their glory fade?

O the wild charge they made!

All the world wondered.

Honour the charge they made,

Honour the Light Brigade,

Noble six hundred."

Kain glanced at her. "I'm surprised you know the Poet Laureate."

"My father gifted me with a love of poetry," she replied. "And with my abilities I've been able to travel through worlds and learn the works of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and many other poets laureate besides; and not just those of Great Britain, either." She turned her face towards the dark floating citadel as the other Soul Reapers around them took to the air, a small army in the wake of the advancing ships…perhaps, indeed, a Light Brigade of six hundred. "So, shall we go forth into the jaws of Death and the mouth of Hell?"

Kain chuckled. "Succeed or fail…I would think that our glory will fade immediately, and no one will wonder or honor our charge. But let's go." And they took off after their allies.

8-8-8

The _aiju_ rose into the sky first to oppose the puny ships making their advance…and the Vizards slammed into them first. Equipping their masks, they unleashed their diabolic power upon the raging monsters and blew the first wave of them pieces.

More came up in their wake, however, and Kain, Sakura and Minoru all dispatched several more with equal speed and precision. The advancing ships began to break through and converge on the island, but then another monster rose up behind Kain. He turned towards it….

But it was suddenly cut down by a massive spear-like polearm, and Lisa Yadamaru, the raven-haired, schoolgirl-dressed Vizard, sporting a Hollow mask with only a cross-shaped visor in it, stepped in front of him. She let her mask vaporize and turned to him. "You have business in there, don't you? Just leave these things to us, and get on down there!"

Kain nodded and turned away, taking off straight for the palace with Sakura and Minoru in his wake.

Meanwhile, the _Camelot_ touched down—actually, more closely resembled a crash-down—on the main island. Its knights leapt off and immediately set upon the waiting guards. Hinagiku came stumbling out of the ship and sat shivering and gasping on the ground for a few moments. "Really, all this flying…when does it end!?" she cursed.

Then she looked up, surprised, as several armored guardsmen came leaping at her. She reached for her sword, but before she could raise it, a figure interposed and repelled them all. She was a woman apparently in her twenties, and quite blue—short blue hair capped by a blue bandana, blue cloak and blue sleeveless tunic and breaches, wielding a sword that resembled a Chinese broadsword, a _dao_ , and a particularly large and ornate model. She dipped into a stance, and then with a dancing pattern leapt into action, darting between the enemy figures and attacking them. Flame and lightning accompanied her attacks as she moved seamlessly, neither chanting nor working any gesture, but simply using that peculiar brand of aggressive one-handed swordsmanship.

In moments she had cut them all down and then turned to the staring Hinagiku. "Are you all right?" she asked her somewhat brusquely.

This pricked Hinagiku's pride. "Of course I am!" She stood up quickly, taking up her sword with her. "I'm Katsura Hinagiku, disciple of Kain Lockeheart! I came here to fight!"

The other woman smiled slightly. "Hmm," she agreed casually. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Shadowhawk, one of the last remaining Knights of the Round." She turned towards the new enemies that were approaching and readied herself for combat. "Well, shall we fight together here?"

"Of course!"

The two dashed into combat, swords flashing at their foes….

8-8-8

Kain was heading towards the citadel, but was suddenly forced away and downward to avoid the streaking claws of shadow that warped out towards him. He hit the ground and glanced over at his assailant—one he recognized. "Dynamis," he acknowledged the cloaked mage.

"So…Kain Lockeheart," rumbled Dynamis. "I do not have the presence to remember the so-called 'previous world', but my Prince has advised me of your existence. Of course, I cannot expect to overcome you alone…so I brought friends." Several more cloaked figures, wearing robes similar to those of Dynamis but of varying colors, appeared around Kain.

Kain glanced around at the foes, then turned his stare to Dynamis. "You're willing to sacrifice your life…all of you, your lives…in order to just buy a little time? Even together, you can't stand up to me."

Dynamis laughed. "This is true…yet you could say the same for them, can you not?" Dynamis gestured at the battles that were beginning to rage all around them. "We have decimated their forces and killed many of their leaders…without you, they have no hope. Even now, they battle knowing many of them may die, knowing all of them may die, and yet they fight, believing that if you can triumph, it will all be worth it. Don't think we have any less the same thoughts. When Cosmo Entelecheia is complete and the worlds are remade into the new, perfect Obsidian Star, we can be remade even if we are dead…and if our Prince chooses not to, it matters not, for we were created by him and live for his service, regardless. As long as our Prince is victorious, as long as the Obsidian Star survives, that is all we can ask for."

The five assembled figures readied themselves, as did Kain, and then their attacks came…but suddenly the attacks were neutralized and scattered by a rain of light that fell around Kain, surrounding him. Kain turned to the figure that now stood at his side. "Aiden," he acknowledged the man.

"Dynamis is right about that, Kid," Aiden advised his _kohai_. "It's you versus that brat Nagi, right? So you need to get out of here. I'll take care of these clowns here. It's unfinished business for me, after all."

Kain stood for just a second, still, calculating Aiden's next move, but he shook his emotions away and turned as Sakura called out to him. "Right," he agreed finally, turning to the girl. "I'll leave this to you, then. See you on the other side of the rabbit hole." He burst into a fast withdrawal.

"You shall not flee!" Dynamis began, but as he and his fellows began their pursuit, Aiden reacted. He snatched an item out of his coat and threw it into the air, where it exploded, creating another cut-off space that encapsulated the world, restricting this new plane to Aiden and the five Obsidian Knights.

"C'mon," Aiden called to the dark mage as he stopped his flight. "You still have to play with me, right? Or don't tell me you've forgotten how I messed you up twenty years ago."

Dynamis turned slowly around to stare down at Aiden. "…I wished first and foremost to aid my Prince, but you are right…we do have unfinished business, Aiden Rylack. It matters not…I am among the least of my Prince's servants now. Even if we cannot stop him, others will do it for us…and I do get you as a consolation prize…."

"Right." Aiden smiled mockingly. "Then take me…if you can."

"You jest," hissed Dynamis. "In your state, do you really think that you can take me and my brothers?"

"There's always a way." Aiden pulled out his Caster, then carefully pulled a single shell from the pockets of his coat. He placed it in the chamber and snapped it closed, then raised the weapon as it began to power. "Regardless of what happens to me, you're not going anywhere."

Dynamis stared in shock as he recognized the nature of the loaded shell and the building energy. _This is…!_

Aiden's lifeforce went directly into the gun as it fired its blast, turning it into a spell that absolutely consumed everything in the artificial world…and then that world itself.

8-8-8

Kain, Sakura and Minoru continued their advance towards the palace's gate, racing across the ground and cutting down anything that got in their way. As they came within sight of it, a massive form suddenly burst from the stone around them, rising high into the air and unfolding itself into another shape that Kain recognized—Miroku, the massive avatar that the Prince had summoned in his final desperate stand in the 'previous' world.

Miroku raised its massive club and brought it down in an astonishingly quick swing, and the three scattered to avoid it. Kain took the air and began to swoop in immediately, but with equally impressive reactions Miroku brought that club back towards him in a savage backhand attack. Kain just managed to dodge again, but the pressure from the force of the blow as it just missed him sent him flying out of the air.

He recovered immediately as he touched down, and Sakura suddenly moved in to attack and take its attention before it could pursue him. Her invisible blade flashed, but only sparks seemed to arise from where her blows landed.

"What a powerful monster," she murmured as she retreated back to Kain's side to avoid the counterattack. "Of course, it did hold off the entire force of the Red Wings, but still, a blade of imaginary sharpness can barely scratch it…."

"You can imagine that thing even sharper, right? Or is there a limit to your imagination?" Kain teased as they took to the air again to retreat from before the next attack.

"Well, the more power I use, the faster I leave this plane of existence; there is a severe limit to what I can accomplish inside a dream, after all. I'd rather save what I can for the big guys inside…."

"Those 'big guys' must be pretty darn impressive if you think you'd rather save your power for them instead of this monster…."

Again a wild swing through the air forced them back to the ground, and then with that absurd speed the monster brought its club down to crush them almost as soon as they landed…just a bit faster than they could easily dodge. But then Minoru was there, and with a thunderclap like a hundred jets blasting off at once, he blocked the club with his sword…and was completely unmoved by the impact.

Sakura smiled at his back. "Well, I brought my own monster, too, so I'm not too worried," she confided to Kain.

"That's a rather depressing veiled insult," Minoru muttered, then threw off the giant with an enormous shove. "It's not like I'm one of those three…and it's still taking everything I have to match this thing in strength." He stepped into the air right above the monster, and brought his sword—his real _zanpaku-tô_ , which he had been using from the outset—down upon the monster's face. It fell backwards and sprawled out its arms as it smashed into the ground and caused the whole island to shake.

"Pure Iron Stance, eh?" Sakura murmured, stepping up next to him as they observed the creature make complicated movements to rise back into the air. "Yes, without a viable offense, this thing will be a tough nut to crack…I might have to get serious, too…."

They readied themselves to defend as the monster set itself to return to the offensive, but then a huge blast of light came sailing from behind them and assaulted the monster. It was forced back again, using its free hand to attempt to shield itself, and when the attack faded, there were obvious signs of small burns and scarring on its body. Artoria stood a bit behind them, and she readied her sword again in both hands. "Well…even Excalibur can barely leave a dent in that thing, eh? And here I thought I could be of some use to you…."

"I'm sure you'll be plenty," Sakura told her with a smile, retreating to her side. "Even if it takes all we've got, we'll bring this thing down."

"The numbers will work," Minoru agreed, joining them. "And it won't take much longer. The best thing about numbers is that while it's focused on one or two or even three targets, there's at least one it's not targeting preparing himself for an attack…."

And Minoru's words shone true as the monster rose back into the air above them, ready to pounce…for Kain suddenly appeared behind it, flaring with black-red power nearly as bright as the sun as he assumed his doom bolt form. Magical circles appeared under him, behind him, above him, on either side of him as he finished his long chant and stretched out a hand. "Chaos Ultima," he commanded, and Miroku was wrapped, surrounded, and consumed by the explosive supernova and pure chaos energy. Again the island rocked and shuddered from the force, but Miroku did not die immediately—they could see its form thrashing and fighting the attack inside the blazing sphere, but finally its actions slowed, and in a final great explosion it was gone.

Kain's energy left him, and he alighted back upon the ground, panting slightly. "Right," he said finally, straightening himself and smiling grimly as Minoru, Sakura and Artoria came running up next to him. "Time to make our entrance."

"Are you alright, Kain?" Sakura asked with evident concern.

"Well, I had to use up a lot of energy," Kain admitted. "I should be able to recover…let's just say that I really hope you weren't bluffing about saving your trump card for the big battles inside. I'll need a lot more time before I can take down something of that caliber again."

Minoru glanced behind him at the raging battle and swarming enemies. "Then let's get moving before we get overwhelmed by new foes. There seems no end to the battle out here."

They hurried back towards the gate, with Kain blasting it open with a casual gesture. They stormed into the enormous entry hall, and showed no signs of slowing down until they ascended the stairs at the back, burst through that door and into the great hall beyond…and were brought up short by the figures waiting for them. "Legretta the Quick…and Van Grants, eh?" Kain muttered, staring at the pair.

Van sneered down at the intruders. "So…you've managed to come this far, son of Lockeheart. And you're joined by what must be the last remaining member of the Red Wings…as well as two insignificant Soul Reaper captains. I'm afraid I can't let you come any farther in…."

Artoria stepped forward and raised her sword. "Don't think that _you_ are significant enough to even slow down this invasion. Excalibur!" She brought the sword down, and the blast of holy energy crashed towards the pair, who scattered to avoid it.

When the smoke cleared, they spotted Kain, Sakura and Minoru dashing past them. "Oh no, you don't!" Legretta insisted, moving to intercept them and raising a pistol. In an instant, however, Artoria was in her path, cutting her across the abdomen and sending her falling to the ground.

Artoria turned from her vanquished foe towards Van, raising her sword and setting herself in a ready position. "Try what you like now…the invasion continues without you."

A small smile crossed Van's face. "Indeed…it seems that I won't be able to pass easily. I never imagined I would really be facing down the Queen of Avalon. But I must try my utmost, regardless." He shifted the grip on his sword and began to sing. A wing appeared from his right shoulder and his right arm sprouted feathers of light as an aurora of energy began to encircle him.

Artoria assumed an equally grim smile. "And I never believed I would be facing the patron of the Fendes family. Come, then…let us engage in our meaningless battle."

They flashed together, swords singing….

8-8-8

"You're already breathing more easily," Sakura noted cheerfully as they ran on. "You seem to be recovering quite nicely."

"I'm not really human anymore," Kain replied dryly. "I'm not even mortal. My body will recover quickly—mana as well, but that's not so easily seen…."

They were brought up short as they entered the next chamber—the hall with the stairs leading up to the various towers. Three figures stood barring their way this time: Horius, Kalovus and Koltas. The three scientists stared them down, and Kain considered them with purposeful care. "…You three can't possibly think that you'll be able to stand in our way…."

"Goodness, no!" Horius laughed. "Of course we'd never match up with monsters like you in a straight-up brawl. But only fools go into combat relying on brute force."

"Naturally, we prepared this greeting just for you," Kalovus added, and began a gesture, which his two brothers supplemented with their own motions. Lights and binding magic began to rise about them, and Kain felt the familiar tug of space/time magic….

And then it was gone as an unseen, unknowable force cut through the energies, dispersing the magic and wiping all trace of it from existence. Sakura shifted from her post-slash posture to her fencing-like guard, pointing her invisible sword at the three stunned scientists. "Not this time," she said cheerfully. "More space/time traps designed to scatter us through the palace, splitting us up and putting us in disadvantageous situations? No, thank you, we'll just fight you right here and move on."

The three scientists began to panic in variably visible degrees and started to fall back as their three foes readied themselves…but then a powerful presence appeared behind the trio. They turned to behold Ulquiorra Schiffer, who had arrived seemingly out of nowhere and stood above them, powering a cero. "The tricks might have failed…but this won't," he intoned, and fired. The three avoided the blast, but it shattered the floor beneath their feet and they went tumbling down into the depths of the palace.

They came to rest easily several dozen feet below, in a truly unique chamber—a grassy field and orchard, nearly a park, lit with artificial sunlight (even with the hole in the ceiling through which they came) and dominated by elevated bridge-like walkways. In the center of the field was the most amazing sight: a tree, large and dark and bedecked with deep purple leaves and strange black fruit in various stages of growth, and veins of obsidian-like stone tracing its trunk and branches in irregular patterns.

Kain looked around in a bit of wonder. "Well…what's this about?" He turned and focused on the tree. "Is this…the stolen Mana Seed, grown into this corrupted tree…?"

"That's right." The conspicuously-absent Kamo appeared on Kain's shoulder. "Rukia ended up here last time, but it didn't have this tree—they staged that minor invasion into Mahora in the last few minutes there, while we were battling Eminus, but the martial arts kids' masters teamed up with the Mahora defenders to repel them all. This is what they got from Mahora back during the Festival in this world, however—and this tree has been serving as a generator for their armies and a gate to bring their greatest champions through. The Crystal Throne, the Obsidian Heart, Cosmo Entelecheia, the Replication Engine and this tree—they were all designed to be pieces of the Obsidian Star's new palace, the machine for their ascension to godhood over these seven worlds."

Kain grunted and raised a hand. "Well, since we've arrived here, we might as well do some gardening work before heading back up…."

"I'm afraid that can't be allowed," a high-pitched voice said, and a strange figure, dressed in white with a tall vertical mask adorning its apparent head suddenly appeared to his left. "We've been forced to guard this pathetic garden for so long, but now we'll finally have an opportunity to battle," a much deeper voice rumbled, emanating from this new arrival.

Off to Sakura's right, a terrible, mocking laugh resounded, and a figure rose up out of the stone like a strange grey liquid and solidified into another white-robed arrancar, one adorned with glasses and short pink hair. "You sought to escape our traps and managed to avoid our lair, but we won't let such appetizing test subjects escape so easily," the man told Sakura. "I'd certainly like to thoroughly investigate that interesting sword of yours…."

Ulquiorra touched down behind Minoru, and he turned to face the assailant. "Traps or not, the going won't be easy here," Minoru remarked, readying his sword in one hand. "Even if we'd made it inside, this looks to be a long, drawn-out campaign…."

F I N

 _Author's Note: The Battle Begins_

 _Act 17 was the first 'break' Act since Act 14—15 and 16 were pretty much running battles, or rather, a constant stream of separate battles or tense situations at minimum. It's an interesting mental exercise to track how the story varies from battle-rich segments towards more restful scenarios, etc. The point, of course, is that Act 18, specifically from this chapter on, is going to be another stream of separate battles all the way to its (probably short) conclusion._

 _As I've noted before, I tend to over-like and over-use the trope for 'split the heroes up and have them fight separately'. Of course, it's an anime staple in some ways, too, sometimes by design, sometimes by enemy action. I specifically use the 'enemy action' too much, and the Obsidian Star does seem to particularly favor it. Of course, it also makes lots of sense—divide and conquer is a very basic rule of war, after all. Thank goodness I had Sakura around to use her powers to veto my writer's action this time!_

 _Of course, there's been the usual kinds of separations anyway, as the great armies fight in their little groups or pockets, but Kain, Minoru and Sakura have all been together so far. There will be a slight break from Minoru next chapter, but he'll rejoin the group before too long, and this group probably will stay together right to the end._

 _I'm going to get a bit more into Shadowhawk next chapter as we take a quick look outside at some of the major heroes there, but in short: she is a character made by and put here for my second sister, the one who spent the most time playing video games and reading manga and watching anime with me, and so I wanted to have a character for her appear as well, even if only in cameo. Shadowhawk is one of the characters she tends to create in her games, and this particular version comes from the beginnings of our custom Soul Calibur 3 characters we created; Shadowhawk was here creation there. She's here as a heretofore unseen Knight of the Round, and she'll explain her backstory relative to the world for us next time. Mostly, she's a cameo/homage/Easter egg character I threw in for my sister's sake, just as MK was for my youngest sister._

 _The alternate-world significance of this Act leaves me a lot of things I can do because I feel like and a lot of things I feel have to happen. Many of the enemies that were defeated before are still around, because it was Kain's girls (or Kain himself) that beat them and they weren't around in this universe, but some are still gone. Most of the arrancar have been wiped out previously, by the Soul Reapers, the Vizards, or both, and I feel this is probable because they were all defeated in Bleach; the Soul Reapers were then decimated after their battles by the greater Obsidian Knights and Lords, who took advantage of their weakened states. The three brothers are still separate, and there are more enemies waiting…hard to say exactly just how long it will be before the final battle in this Act, but it shouldn't be as large as 16, or even 15._

 _So, let's resume with, once again, the 'last of the arrancar'…._


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Six: The Rampage

There was a lull in the battle; Momo, who had joined Hinagiku and Shadowhawk in their own mêlée some time before, lowered her sword and took a look around. "I think that's round one," she murmured. "Round two will probably be starting soon."

Hinagiku sighed and rested on her sword for a moment. "I'm ready for it," she insisted, shooting Momo a stern look meant to preempt any discussion of her condition, and which was probably not necessary. She turned to Shadowhawk. "I'm grateful for your assistance…Miss Shadowhawk. But…forgive me for saying so, but…you seem more like…like a pirate than a knight…."

Shadowhawk chuckled. "Well, I am…or at least I was. I led a pirate crew and terrorized the northern seas by the western continent for several years. Then there was a severe storm and a great sea monster that attacked us; as far as I know, I'm the only survivor. Our ship was destroyed, and, near death, I shipwrecked on the shores of Avalon. They took me in and cared for me; and after I was nursed back to health, her Majesty persuaded me to give up my old ways and become a knight in her service, and I agreed. So, here I am now." She looked up and raised her sword. "In any case, it seems our respite is over. Round two is starting now."

Her two companions quickly readied themselves as the shadowy bipeds began to materialize around them. Growling unnatural sounds from their throats, they began to stalk forward….

One leapt at Hinagiku's unprotected back. She turned to intercept it, but a new figure arrived there first, cutting the beast in half in a flash and settling down before the shocked redhead.

"Looks like fun," Delryn murmured, arising to his full height and leaning his sword on his shoulder. "Let me join in on this one, too."

"D-Delryn- _san_ ," Hinagiku stuttered, then allowed anger to give her back control. "W-we don't need any help…!"

"Then don't consider it help," Delryn retorted. "I've been waiting for a chance to try this out, so just let me take this one, okay? There's plenty more for all of us to come." He raised his sword to the side. " _Bankai_. Tenrô Raishin."

His power exploded out as he assumed his 'one-winged angel' form. "Call the Pack," Delryn intoned…and, one by one, a pack of golden wolves, composed of light, began to appear around him. Delryn pointed his sword forward. "Hunt," he commanded, and, with howls, the wolves leapt to action, racing out to attack the Obsidian Beasts that opposed them.

8-8-8

Szayel-Aporro chuckled and pushed at his 'glasses'. "Well…shall we begin the games…?"

"No…I don't think so," Sakura replied sweetly, and swung. A look of surprise crossed Szayel-Aporro's face as he began to fall, cut in half. "I have no time or patience to deal with a loathsome, disgusting bug like you." Sakura immediately raised her off-hand. " _Hidô_ 59: Incinerate." A blast of white-hot flame flashed out and washed over Szayel-Aporro in an instant, leaving nothing of the crazed scientist behind.

"I am Aaroniero Arruruerie," the arrancar facing Kain said in its deep voice. "I will devour you…for the glory of the Obsidian Star." He pulled off his glove, revealing the malformed mouth of his Glotoneria, and he released his sword, swelling up into his massive, bulbous Hollow form. "Now, let your magic feed me…!"

Like Sakura, Kain wasted no time with this foe. A single, powerful blast of force leapt from Kain's hand to burn a large hole right through the massive creature, and it fell, crying in agony as it died.

The two turned to Minoru, who stepped forward to lock swords with Ulquiorra. "Mine's a little more troublesome," he informed them. "You two go on ahead; I'll rejoin you when I'm finished."

Kain opened his mouth to object, but Sakura grabbed his sleeve to silence him and nodded upward. She started to ascend, and Kain took to the air to follow, but he paused just a moment to turn back and drop a spell on the tree, turning it into a bonfire.

Minoru watched them go, spared a brief glance at the burning tree, then said, "Well…now we can fight without distractions." He suddenly shoved forward, throwing Ulquiorra off balance, and sent him flying with a kick. He sailed into and through one of the far walls, crashing into the dark room beyond.

Ulquiorra rose just in time to see Minoru arrive and stalk slowly towards him. "Ulquiorra Schiffer," Minoru said. "Actually, I've always wanted a chance to fight you. You were one of the most exceptional of the Espada…you should be an interesting test for me." He dashed forward, his sword swinging.

Ulquiorra met his blade. "I don't know what nonsense you're talking about…but you will regret your zeal." Their swords flashed, clashing and sparking as they dueled. Finally they locked their blades together after one more clash, and Ulquiorra let go with one hand to raise a finger and power a cero.

Minoru shoved off and fell back, retreating. Ulquiorra fired…and Minoru suddenly set himself and swung, literally cutting the cero in half and sending the two halves flying out to destroy two separate sections of the wall behind him.

Ulquiorra stared in shock…but he recovered quickly enough to avoid the deathblow as Minoru stepped behind him and attacked. He fell back, bloodied, and observed his attacker carefully as Minoru paused in his assault.

"I see," Ulquiorra murmured. "You are strong…incredibly so, for a _hinigami_ captain. Ordinary measures won't work on you." And then he fired a cero over his head, creating a hole in the ceiling, and suddenly began to ascend.

Minoru pursued him. "Running away…or trying to cut off my friends?"

Ulquiorra sailed all the way up to finally dash through the roof of the tower and alight upon its turret. "Neither," he finally said, turning to Minoru as the Soul Reaper arrived. He raised his sword. "My release is too powerful to use so deep within the Palace. Out here, there should be no danger. Enclose, Murciélago."

The explosion of darkness enveloped him and flowed out, revealing him in his new bat-winged form. "Now…the fight truly begins," he said, and stepped down suddenly, golden spear in his hand curling in to attack….

"Shine brightly, Hinome." Minoru's sword of blue-white light met and repelled Ulquiorra's spear. The two skidded some distance apart, then moved in to clash again.

"Good," Ulquiorra intoned as they struggled. "You can keep up with me even like this. You and that other _hinigami_ girl interest me. You're powerful…you're different than those other _hinigami_ …they were nothing but trash."

"If they were trash, then what does that make all the arrancar that they defeated?" Minoru retorted. "No, don't tell me—I can see it in your eyes. They, too, your own comrades, were nothing but trash, eh? Well, you're right about one thing." Minoru threw Ulquiorra back and set himself again. "We're different from the _hinigami_ you know. Come at me again, and I'll show you just how different."

After a moment's hesitation, Ulquiorra did so, and Minoru blocked his attack. The pair exchanged blows back and forth for a few moments before a sudden aggressive push from Minoru threw Ulquiorra off-balance and he lunged forward to seize the opportunity. Ulquiorra fell back, turning the killing strike into a flesh wound, then stepped behind Minoru just a split-second later…but Minoru's sword was already coming back around, driving in to intercept….

A piece of Ulquiorra's helmet went flying and stuck into the ground with a satisfying _thunk_ , and Ulquiorra stared at Minoru from a distance, a small portion of blood trickling down the left side of his face and giving an interesting outline to his makeup. He stared at Minoru, who stood still for a few moments, then shifted casually into a new guard position.

"What's the matter?" Ulquiorra demanded. "Are you so arrogant, so sure of your victory, that you think you don't need to press an advantage? You're strong…but merely this level isn't enough to defeat me." He raised his hand and began to power a massive, dark cero. "Let's see you deal with this…the mightiest cero an arrancar can produce. Cero Oscuras."

The blast of blackness fired…but once again Minoru's sword flashed, and the great surge of energy separated into two perfect halves. Ulquiorra stared, wide-eyed, down at his unharmed foe.

"Razor Steel Stance," Minoru intoned, relaxing his guard again. "Of course, that's supposed to be our offensive stance…but being able to cut anything makes a good shield against attacks, too." He pointed the sword at Ulquiorra. "You noted I was different, and I acknowledged it…but you really have no idea of what's different about us. In the original Gotei 13, the ability to use _Bankai_ was necessary for a _hinigami_ to be considered powerful enough to become a captain. But in the Mistworld, that is no longer enough. After the battles with the arrancar and the Quincies, from observing their powers and techniques, new abilities were devised by the Gotei 13, experimental powers that were brought by those captains that came over and perfected in our world. The Quincies, you see, can infuse their bodies, or rather their blood vessels, with _reishi_ , focusing it into a flow they call _Blut_ , which gives them impenetrable defense ( _Blut Vene_ ) and irresistible offense _(Blut Arterie_ ). But as it is with extremes, they could not be used simultaneously.

"Still, they were powerful enough that it was worthwhile to adapt to our own use. _Shinigami_ cannot draw in _reishi_ the way Quincies can in order to infuse our blood vessels, but we have a powerful tool that helps us focus _reishi_ —our _zanpaku-tô_. We call this technique _Reishisei_ , 'Spirit Stance'. 'Pure Iron Stance' turns the sword into an unmovable object, hardening its _reishi_ to the point where nothing can penetrate or even move it, effectively making it an impenetrable shield as long as we can block the attack. 'Razor Steel Stance' sharpens the blade of the _zanpaku-tô_ to a point where it can cut practically anything. And so, for our Gotei 13, _Bankai_ is a necessary step to be qualified to be a lieutenant…and _Reishisei_ , complete mastery of the _zanpaku-tô_ 's offensive and defensive adjustment, is required for consideration for the position of captain."

Minoru shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, naturally, the effectiveness of the technique actually depends on the spiritual power of the person using it, but it takes real effort to 'master' these stances to the point where they give us the needed edge in combat…hence why it's part of our captains' test." He returned to a guard form. "Anyway, that's enough explaining of my techniques, and enough showing off. This next skirmish, I'll finish you so I can rejoin the others."

Ulquiorra stared down with his blank, near-malevolent expression. "Ridiculous," he scoffed. "Don't think your silly 'stances' will be enough to overcome my power. Behold…my unique power, my second release."

He assumed his 'Resurreción Segunda Etapa', and let his boiling power flow out. Then he formed his lance of lightning and raised his arm to throw it at Minoru. Minoru stood there, watching him. Ulquiorra let the lance go…and once again, Minoru slapped it aside, cutting the power perfectly in half with his sword. Then, as Ulquiorra began to prepare a follow-up, Minoru suddenly appeared in front of him, that sword raised to strike. "Explode, Hinome," Minoru commanded, and swung his shining sword down.

The sword's light burst into a blazing supernova as it began to cut into Ulquiorra, and the power of the technique blasted through the arrancar. When the painful light finally died, Ulquiorra was falling from the top of his tower, most of his body already gone and the rest disintegrating away.

 _I never felt anything_ , Ulquiorra thought as he stared at the form of Minoru up above him on the tower's ledge, growing smaller with the distance. _All my life, all I had…was emptiness. But now, at this time…I feel…._

Minoru watched him until he disappeared. Then he sealed and sheathed his sword. "Okay…that was a nice distraction. Now it's time to rejoin the party." And he dived back down into the hole to retrace his steps.

8-8-8

Kain and Sakura quickly returned to the top of the hole, but the chamber had been abandoned. Without any waiting they immediately began ascending the stairs.

Three floors up they reached a wide chamber, and there the three scientists were waiting for them. Again Kain and Sakura both paused, watching cautiously. "Another trap laid?" Kain offered. "Do you think it will work any better than the last one?"

"Even you are not invincible," Horius sneered. "We'll do what we have to, in order to kill you. After all…the only thing waiting for us if you succeed is oblivion."

"We'd rather not risk our lives if we can help it," Koltas sighed in his quieter, more reserved tone. "But our odds of living if we just let you pass are smaller than our odds of success, so…it's all we can do to stand in your way. And so we'll throw everything we've got at you in order to stop you."

"And so we've put all our chips into this pile…everything we have left," Kalovus finished.

The trio extended their hands and began to chant, and power filled the chamber. It finished almost instantly, coalescing in the center of the room and then rising up and exploding out into a monstrous form. The beast was semi-upright and about twelve feet tall at its slumped shoulder, a very long, beak-like head with dark glowing black coals for eyes and a fang-filled mouth. Its skin seemed thin and bony, and yet its flesh seemed filled with an ample amount of muscle. Two long arms topped by three-taloned hands and legs that bent backward at the knee and ended in equally taloned feet completed its form, and various spikes and thorns around its body filled the image. It raised its head and let loose a great roar.

Kain set himself. "So, this is everything you've got, eh?"

"Not everything."

The voice came from another doorway, off to the left, and it froze Kain solid. He turned his head to stare at the figure as he came striding into the room. "Kenjirô…what are you doing here…?"

Kenjirô Hanatabi, carrying his sword in one hand and the other in the pocket of his slacks, narrowed his eyes at Kain. "What? You know me? I guess I should be honored that the rumored son of Kalan Lockeheart knows my name, but I'm not sure I like you referring to me so casually when we've just met." He pulled his off-hand out of his pocket and laid hold of a sword hilt protruding from a scabbard that was tied to the back of his waist. He pulled the blade and shifted it into a proper grip, and dark energy poured out of it. The _katana_ 's blade was black, its guard was silver with a strange symbol on it, and its essence was a foulness Kain could palpably discern.

A new giggle sounded from the other side of the room, and Kain whipped his head back to stare at Kinue as the mad swordswoman made her entrance. "Oh…I feel it. You're reacting nicely to that dark sword Kenjirô- _kun_ is carrying; it's causing you consternation for some reason." She pulled her own sword—the same Muramasa she had used against Erika in the 'previous' world. "Well, your presence and power is deliciously terrifying, but with these twin demon swords, we should be able to compete with you. I'd like to taste your deliciousness myself, but…this little girl you've got with you should be even more satisfying." She darted in to attack Sakura, and this was the starting bell of the fight, as the beast roared again and leapt in and Kenjirô came dashing towards Kain.

Sakura met Kinue's sword with her own invisible blade, suddenly kicked her to send her flying, and then stepped over to get in Kenjirô's path. However, the three scientists suddenly took up positions around her, and unleashed a burst of spells from multiple angles, forcing her away and into the air. Suddenly a girl dressed in the red uniform of Mahora's middle school girls, a girl with long blue-green hair, appeared behind her. Ryoko Asakura smiled as a shimmering rainbow-colored shell of a world enveloped Sakura.

Sakura whirled on the girl. "Asakura Ryoko," she murmured. "Don't think a world like this can hold me." She raised her weapon to prepare a slash, but suddenly Kinue was there, impaling her through the chest from behind.

"Don't forget about me," Kinue whispered in her ear, licking her lips. "I never let my prey escape when I've set my sights on it…."

Suddenly Sakura and all trace of her vanished. There was not even any blood left on Kinue's blade…and then Sakura appeared down 'below', perhaps on the ground, if this null-rainbow-space had ground, perfectly unharmed and staring up at the pair with an inscrutable expression.

Ryoko smiled down at her. "Ah, nicely done, Sakura- _chan_! Even in this world, I can't fully restrict your abilities. We're at an impasse, aren't we? We can't stop your dream…but on the other hand, you can't leave here, can you?"

Sakura stared and did not reply. "Remember that I, too, know everything about the previous world," Ryoko continued. "This re-writing of reality restored me just as much as the Obsidian Star and their Prince, and I'm quite grateful at a second chance for my experiment. Remember that I watched you throughout the Festival, and I analyzed all the powers you used against Kain- _sensei_ then. I sensed when you arrived and knew you were the biggest threat to the new world, the best chance of helping Kain- _sensei_ restore it to how it used to be. I've altered this program to counteract your abilities and I'm constantly re-writing it and updating it in order to keep you from finding a way out. You'll have to stay here with us for a good while…until Kain- _sensei_ has been dealt with."

Sakura smiled slightly. "Is that so…you do have me there. Your program is designed with firewalls against my power, so I have to choose between bringing an end to this world or maintaining my own status. But do you really think I need to go to Kain- _sensei_ 's aid?"

"Ah, what a cute bluff! Kain- _sensei_ has the heart of a demon, but even so, against not only that monster and the three scientists, but even Kenjirô- _kun_ , his best friend…can he really fight against him? I know that you tried to intercept and fight Kenjirô- _kun_ yourself so he wouldn't have to. That's the main reason for this…we're preventing you from doing so."

Sakura's smile fled, then she sighed and shrugged. "Well, that would have made things easier for us, but it's hardly a requirement that I be there to hold his hand. I have plenty of other aces sitting around, you know. Fine, I'll play with you a little while…Kain will be fine until I get out."

8-8-8

Kain's expression was robotic as he watched Ryoko, Sakura and Kinue all vanish. Then he had to leap aside as the monster pounced on him. He formed a magical blade to block as Kenjirô arrived next, attacking savagely with both swords, and they exchanged blows for several long seconds as Kain's mind whirred into overdrive.

 _Kenjirô…well, in point of fact I did meet him in Kyoto, when he was working (rather unknowingly) for the Obsidian Star. But after our fight, he refused to work for them again…and now here he is, their puppet? He couldn't have…._

 _…No, it's easy to imagine things changing. When I met him, Kenjirô was already wavering between good and evil. He wasn't jaded by his life, but he hadn't had anything to push him the other way, either. Combatants like Akari and me, potential rivals to fight…that's the main thing that pushed him to join us. To think that such a difference could be made…I don't even have to think that I was the one who changed him, made him realize the best of his humanity…moved him from a path of dark to light. Even just introducing him to this side of the world, so that other things could change him…._

 _A butterfly effect? I don't believe in such a thing…a butterfly's wingbeat won't move winds across the world or shape the future. There are always more butterflies. But people, on the other hand…one person does change the world, and all the time. If, say, one or more of Akari's masters had been the one to vanish instead, how would that have changed me? Someone I met only briefly, who means almost nothing directly in my life…yet their presence in my world has caused ripples to shape my life. And now, because we haven't shared those memories, Kenjirô is like this…._

Kain, who had been reacting defensively to Kenjirô's furious attacks, suddenly pushed forward, slamming him in the face with a savage off-hand punch, then kicking his shin and finally whirling in a complete circle to hit him in the chest with a spinning kick. Kenjirô went flying, but recovered himself with an _ukemi_ in midair. He paused for a second while the great beast came dropping down on Kain.

Kain dodged one strike, then leapt back the other way to plant a foot on the talon before the creature could raise it, then pushed off to jump into the monster's face. He raised his mana sword to strike, but the other claw came around at speed and he was forced to protect himself from the attack and abandon his assault. The monster seemed to be growing faster and more furious as it continued its attacks on Kain….

And he came to another startling revelation as he felt a resonation in the monster's pulse reaching his ears. _This monster…it has the same heart I do! The demon heart, that must have belonged to these three originally…instead of planting it inside of me, in this world they've used it to create this creature. And…it's sucking up the_ mazoku _energy that I'm giving off…if I fight this thing with my demonic power, it'll just feed on me…._

Kain threw a quick spell into the monster's face, sending it reeling backward, and used the opening to retreat swiftly out of the fight. As he set himself, however, the black form of the transformed Koltas appeared behind him, and he was forced to duel with this new foe. After a few quick exchanges he sent this foe flying, but then Horius and Kalovus appeared in the air above him. A mass of shadows, seemingly in the form of serpents, wrapped around Kalovus, covering him with a mantle, and the heads of the serpents opened their mouths and began to fire blasts of black fire at Kain. Horius chanted and formed more ordinary spells, which he hurled down Kain's way.

Kain dodged the attacks, then stepped up into the air next to the two scientists. A pair of rapid-fire kicks sent both of them flying away immediately, but when he touched down again Kenjirô, now sporting long spiked white hair and blazing red skin, was upon him again. Kain jumped backwards and away immediately, set himself, and activated his True _Kanka_ by the time Kenjirô was once again within range. Kain again conjured two mana swords and parried Kenjirô's incessant attacks with flawless precision.

The monster used a step-like maneuver to suddenly flank Kain, but he dove to the side, stepped behind the monster, and lunged. Horius was in the air above him, however, and he snapped out a command, causing an incandescent shield to flash to life, blocking Kain's strike and nullifying it. The monster whirled around, its claw flailing, but Kain leapt back and dodged the attack. Kalovus was there once again, his mantle firing its blasts at Kain, and the boy wove through them, then fired a spell up into the air that forced Kalovus to disengage. Koltas slipped behind him, but Kain reversed the flank immediately, stepping behind Koltas at the same time he struck and then kicking him with force and sending him flying into the charging Kenjirô.

Again the great beast moved to rejoin the fight, and Kain jumped up and swung his leg high to kick it right in the chin. Then he dropped and hit it low, sending it staggering backwards and down, almost on top of Kalovus, who was forced to move aside. Kain seized the instant he had and stepped back behind Horius. He released his right-hand mana blade, put that hand to his back, and unleashed a savage spell all in one brief breath, blasting through Horius and sending the man gasping and plummeting back down to the ground.

"That's one," Kain murmured.

Suddenly, with another roar, the monster unleashed a blast of energy from its maw. The blast struck Kain directly and sent him flying. Koltas moved into his path, spread his arms out in a sweep, and a whirlpool of blackness appeared around him, suddenly stopping his momentum and slowly drawing him into the center of the dark eddy. Then Kalovus flew up above him again, and once again began to fire bolts of black energy from the serpent mouths that adorned him. The bolts slowed before they reached Kain, however, spreading out into a globe to cover him as he stretched out his hands towards the oncoming attacks….

His opponents stared as slow-moving darkness completely obscured him, leaving a massive globe of black hanging in the air. Then there was a snap in the atmosphere, the blackness swept its way up into a streak that then formed a massive sword in Kain's hand…a sword he was already swinging. The blackness cut Kalovus in half, and even as the man fell, Kain moved towards Koltas next, and with a snap of his wrist turned that dark energy into a spiraling wave that impacted the massive beast in the stomach, struggled against his power and flesh for several moments, and then blasted through him. The two remaining brothers hit the ground at approximately the same time.

"That's three," Kain murmured…and then Kenjirô landed an x-shaped double slash across his back.

8-8-8

Sakura parried three strikes from Kinue, then sent her flying off with a kick. She then whirled around and began to weave to dodge the bladed missiles Ryoko was sending her way. She used a quick step to close the distance and brought her sword around to cut down the magic girl, but Kinue was suddenly on her again.

Sakura simply halted her blade's trajectory, but Kinue's sword was blocked by Sakura's dimension-shifting weapon. Sakura whirled in a complete circle, throwing Kinue off and making a slash at both Ryoko and Kinue in the bargain, her invisible blade flashing ever-so-briefly from changes in light as she made her attacks. She stopped her whirl and made a thrusting motion towards the now-distant Ryoko.

Ryoko ducked under the attack, but the invisible blade caught her shoulder. Sakura withdrew the attack and turned to again catch Kinue's attack.

"My, you're good," Kinue breathed. "I guess that's the real strength of a _shinigami_ captain, eh?"

"I suppose so," Sakura murmured back.

Kinue grinned maniacally, then pushed off, setting Sakura off-balance. She then lunged forward, stabbing Sakura in the shoulder. The _shinigami_ cried out in pain as Kinue pushed forward, throwing her down to the not-quite-visible ground and kneeling on her as she worked her blade. She licked her lips as Sakura's face contorted in agony. "Ah…how exquisite…you really are quite a maiden, aren't you? Are you that unused to pain? That will make this all the more enjoyable…."

Ryoko and Sakura both stared down at Kinue, kneeling on the ground and grinning like a fool, completely unmoving. "What…have you done to her?" Ryoko asked curiously.

"Me?" Sakura replied, a wide smile on her face. "It's your toy. Don't blame me."

"My toy…?" Ryoko's eyes widened in shock. "It can't be…Cosmo Entelecheia…! You couldn't have…!"

"My sword has power over time and space only on a technicality," Sakura explained. "You should know that much, right? My sword is a dream sword. It lets me manipulate anything because dreams transcend reality, but that's really all it ever is…a dream. And Cosmo Entelecheia is the biggest, grandest dream ever, and you've got it right here, connected to your unique world so that you can use and manipulate it as you desire. You may have hardened and shaped the walls of your world so that I can't get out, but you can't stop me from exerting control over my real medium."

Ryoko's smile returned. "Well, now…how cruel of you, to defeat her with a simple trick like that…."

"It's not cruel…quite the opposite," Sakura denied, also smiling. "I shudder to think of what horrible things she's imagining, but it's giving her pleasure…with that demonic sword possessing her, the only things I can do stop her are this, or completely obliterating her down to her core, after separating her from that blade by force. Quite honestly, I really hate killing and hurting people…and she's already dead, anyway. The last moment of her mortal existence will at least be happy for her, after a fashion." She turned fully to Ryoko and resumed her guard. "Now, so I can get out of here, I'm going to have to finish you off…dreams won't work, so I'll just have to send you back to the world beyond. After all, you, too, are already dead…right?"

Ryoko's smiled deepened and she cocked her head. "Is that so? Well, let's see if you can actually manage it!" She raised her arms and then snapped them down, and the entire plane around them seemed to shift, its walls, floor and ceiling becoming more distinct as spike-like razors of light began to emerge from the formless mass. They shot down at Sakura in a great and terrible wave.

Sakura danced and leapt, her invisible blade flashing as it met and deflected each of the strikes.

The storm relented for a moment, and Sakura glanced back up at Ryoko, who slowly gestured, causing more weapons to ready themselves. "You're doing well so far…but can you really keep fighting against an entire world all by yourself?"

"Maybe…but I'm not alone," Sakura teased her with a smile.

Ryoko's smile fled and she narrowed her eyes. "Oh…? Shall I call your bluff…?" She raised one hand in preparation to call her next weapons to action, but a hand suddenly shot out and caught her upraised wrist. She whirled her head around and stared in shock at her assailant. "Yuki- _chan_!?"

The purple-haired girl stared at her with her usual blank expression. "You still cannot succeed, Asakura Ryoko…not even in this world."

"Ha!" Ryoko tore herself free of her comrade's grasp and leapt backwards, then threw both arms up and then down in a slashing motion. The blades she had prepared now came flying at Yuki. "Not this time, Yuki- _chan_! I'll kill you immediately, before you can defeat me!"

Yuki danced back and conjured shields, but the blades were powerful and numerous, and she suffered many wounds as she weathered the storm and fell to her knees a bloody mess when it finally passed.

Ryoko conjured a massive spear of light and held it aloft, readying it to throw. "It's over. You won't get me twice, Yuki- _chan_!"

Yuki raised her head to stare her impassive stare. "You are correct. This time, I am absolutely no threat to you." And her form began to fade slowly away…not disintegrating, but becoming slowly image-like and translucent.

As Ryoko stared in shock, Sakura cut her down from behind. Even as she began to fall, Sakura was suddenly in front of her, and impaled her through the center of her chest, holding her up by the blade. "Sorry, Asakura- _san_ …it's my match. That isn't the real Yuki- _chan_ …she's just a projection. But you are rather fond of her, in your fashion, aren't you? When she appears, you can't do anything but focus on her. It's rather like your own form of Cosmo Entelecheia…."

Ryoko laughed harshly, raggedly. "Just…a projection? But from the real Yuki- _chan_ , right? Oh, well…I guess I never was intended to succeed…in that world, or its remake…."

Sakura withdrew her sword and, in a flash, removed Ryoko's head from her body. The girl faded to nothingness almost immediately. Then Sakura turned to the more slowly-fading Yuki. "Thanks for your help, Yuki- _chan_. I'm glad you heard my call enough to come, even in just that form. Don't worry…I'll send Kain- _sensei_ back to all of you, in the proper world, real soon."

Yuki nodded as she finished disappearing. "We will be waiting."

8-8-8

Kain fell back from Kenjirô's strike and dropped down to the floor, then whirled around, mana blades springing from his hands again, in order to catch his swords on the next assault. "You really are good," Kenjirô breathed. "But you shouldn't be ignoring me!"

"Probably not," Kain agreed, but before he could continue or counterattack, the beast smashed down on him with a roar, causing both combatants to disengage and spring backwards in order to avoid it. Even so, its claw came sweeping around at remarkable speed, and Kain was hit and sent flying.

 _This thing…it's grown even more powerful…perhaps because I destroyed its creators…?_

It seemed a fairly good guess, as the monster rounded on Kain, growing faster and more ferocious every second. Kain desperately dodged several strikes before the monster connected with an overhand swipe, plastering Kain onto the ground with an earth-shattering impact and grinding him down further. Then, suddenly, an expanding bubble of energy began to rise up from Kain, pushing the monster's claw up and away from him slowly, laboriously. Kain was chanting, low and almost subvocally, continuously, and magic circles began to form and spin around him in an ever-widening diorama as he rose and pushed back against the monster. Finally the great bubble of energy burst, turning into an explosion that blew the monster in half. Its pieces went flying, disintegrating all the while.

Kain watched the defeated beast a moment too long…Kenjirô was once again upon him, and he only just avoided a deadly strike. He dueled desperately with the _hanyô_ , but it truly seemed to be a losing battle.

Kenjirô surged forward, head-butting Kain in the face and forcing him off-balance, then followed up by kicking him to the ground. Kain stared up in grim shock as Kenjirô began to bring his demonic sword down for the _coup de grâce_ ….

And the demonic sword, with Kenjirô's hand still attached to it, went flying across the chamber. Kenjirô began convulsing in pain, but Minoru immediately followed up his timely slash by kicking him the opposite direction, sending him bouncing and rolling hard. Minoru made a quick gesture with his free hand. " _Bakudô_ 75: _Gochûtekkan_."

Five massive iron pillars connected by chains appeared out of thin air and fell upon Kenjirô, plastering him to the ground. Minoru glanced down at Kain with a reserved, neutral look on his face. "I understand that this boy was your friend previously, Kain- _san_ …but in this world, if he's your enemy, you have no choice but to strike him down."

"I know that," Kain sighed sadly.

"Part of you didn't, at least." He extended his free hand downward, and Kain took it. He helped pull the younger man to his feet, then glanced over his shoulder as there was a slight rending of the atmosphere and Sakura stepped through the shattered window-pane back into normal space. "We're just about at the end…shall we finish this?"

Sakura nodded at them both in turn. "Right. Are you ready, Kain? This is the final push."

Kain spared one quick glance Kenjirô's way and then set his face towards the stairs ahead. "Right. Let's go. Every moment here just convinces me further…it's time to destroy this world."

The Obsidian Prince stared at the monitor as the three invaders hurried on. He shook his head and turned away to address his Obsidian Lords. "Well…the rats are certainly tenacious, I'll give them that. Honestly, I don't think I really expected it to go any differently. In any case, it is time…they are coming. We shall meet them head on, and crush them with all our power. Are you ready?"

The group of collected warriors saluted and bowed as one. "Yes, Your Highness! Our lives for the Prince!

F I N

 _Author's Note: Brutal Combats_

 _Recent translations of some of my favorite manga have revealed to me that the term 'Tenrô' which I affixed to Delryn's_ Bankai _intending to mean something along the lines of 'heaven-descending', a relatively strange but somewhat common type of technique- or power-describing adjective, has at least one significant alternate meaning—heavenly wolf. This was particularly noteworthy to me because my friend the creator of Delryn has always been rather wolf-obsessed…the wolf is his 'animal manifestation', or whatever, as it were. When I revealed this notable fact to him, he half-jokingly asked if I was going to add a wolf theme to Delryn's weapon down the line. And in fact, the idea appealed to me…but Delryn didn't really have a whole of battles left in the planned story of MSK. There will be a lot less fighting in the last two Acts, and only specific individuals will be in those scattered battles, so…this was about the only place I had left that I could include it, so I decided to throw this little cameo in. If further expansions of the MSK universe include Delryn, we might get to see more of his expanded_ Bankai _powers._

 _Otherwise, kind of like 'the first time' (through Act 16, mostly) I'm just throwing in necessary battles to clean up the 'loose ends' as I perceive them. Kenjirô's presence is intended as a particular dagger through the heart—Kain has become so used to his best friend, he somewhat forgot that Kenjirô began as his enemy, in the Obsidian Star's employ. All sorts of things could have happened…and without the influence of Kain and his class, Kenjirô could not escape the Star's web before they enslaved him with this demonic sword. Kain's demon heart can allow him to fight without caring too much, but this was unexpected, and there's a bit of mental fatigue…Kain's been through a lot in less than 24 hours, and in some ways Kenjirô was the last straw. He's been shaken, and now he's been properly stirred into a fighting spirit (okay, yes, pun semi-intended, I apologize….)_

 _Minoru and Sakura get to show off a little more, and most especially will in the next chapter. We're very much approaching the climax, and this Act still isn't particularly large, which I suspected might be the case…I'll probably have a little more clean-up than I originally intended, which shouldn't be a real problem, and it seems like the cameos coming next chapter will actually get some good performance time in the end…after all, I really don't want to make this Act_ too _short. I like to hit 50,000 words minimum, and we're still about 15,000 short. So, let's see what it takes to draw out the last few dozen or so pages…._


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Seven: The Counterattack

The survivors stood in the shadow of the crevice where they rested—not quite cowering—and observed the stilled mobs of enemies outside. The attack had been desperate, fierce, and never-ending…but now, of a sudden, as the resistance fell in retreat, the enemy had ceased their pursuit.

"What…are they doing?" murmured Rukia, watching them from the mouth of the tunnel. "Now they're all just staring at the Palace…." _It's really eerie,_ her thoughts continued. _It's almost as if…they're praying…._

"I almost wonder if it wouldn't be best to attack them now," Lina averred. "Wipe out what we can while they're distracted…."

"No, we can't be hasty," Leonhardt replied. "We're still…so heavily outnumbered. Whatever is going on in there that's distracting their attention…we should be grateful for it. Right now, almost nothing we do matters. The titanic struggle going on within will determine the fate of our future…possibly even our pasts as well."

Lina gave a hiss of displeasure. "Damn. I hate sitting around passively. So it's all up to him, huh? The mysterious son of the hero, showing up out of nowhere, saving the day while we stand around watching…it's like some damn fairy tale."

"I know the feeling," Delryn agreed. He stared out at the hordes, at the milling monsters and their remaining leaders. "But, hey…we are alive. I'll take that…as long as we're alive, that counts for something."

"I'd say it counts for everything," Zelgadis added.

Rukia glanced back around at their remaining forces. The surviving captains and Vizards were all still kicking, along with most of their lieutenants, including herself, Renji and Momo. Mary-Katherin and Midori of Garderobe. Leonhardt, Wein, Shadowhawk, Carmaine and Riviera of Avalon. Kurt Gödel and Hinagiku, and the collection of vagabonds—Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, and Delryn.

"We're alive," Rukia agreed. "So many are not…but as long as we have life, we have hope." She turned her gaze towards the palace. "And he's alive. Some of you seem sullen that an unknown hero has appeared out of nowhere to save us…but it's far more than that. He isn't some phantom that simply appeared. He knows all about us. He has nothing but disdain for the Obsidian Star; he was acknowledged by the Crystal Princess, and he has a presence that speaks volumes. Each life touches so many other lives; and he has the mark of a man who has touched and shaped a great number. The life that he had is hope. The world he knows…it's all we can wish for on this Christmas Day, that it would return…."

She fell silent, and all the waiting heroes turned their eyes out toward the palace as a pulse of power emerged from it. As they began to consider the implications of this sudden event, the watching and waiting minions all set themselves and turned their eyes towards the resistance's hole.

"Hmm." Shunsui cracked his blades from their sheaths. "It seems our respite is ended…for good or ill, it seems our final stand is about to begin."

They readied themselves for combat as the armies of darkness descended on them with howls….

8-8-8

Kain stared at the final stairway, winding up into the high ceiling and disappearing. He could feel the power emerging from the location; there was no doubt that the Prince's final resistance awaited him. "So…the final trial," Kain murmured. "They're waiting for us; I suppose we shouldn't disappoint."

"Kain." Sakura's tone was serious, and Kain turned to face her fully. "Understand one thing…that battle doesn't matter. Not to you. We need to get you to Nagi; all you have to do is destroy him and his artifact. That will end everything—not just this diseased world, but the last vestiges of the Obsidian Star…the last trace of them. Ignore the Prince; ignore all his bodyguards. Minoru and I will deal with them. You just get to Nagi."

Kain hesitated before replying. "I can tell that the powers they have waiting for us…they're the greatest champions the Prince could bring. There's far too much for just the two of you…with the three of us, at least…."

Sakura cut him off with a fierce chop. "No, Kain. We don't matter, either. We're just dreams, here…just like before. We'll return to our home if we're killed. It's hardly a sacrifice for us to give our lives protecting you. Don't feel any responsibility for us. This time, you once again must embrace that demon heart of yours. Put aside your feelings. Just do what's necessary…that's the best way to help us, and all of our friends fighting and dying for us out there right now."

Kain stared at her for several long moments, impassive, stoic, but finally he sighed and smiled. "You're right, of course…I haven't really been myself this far. Seeing Mai got me angry…but seeing Kenjirô shook me a little. I've been trying to leave behind the demon and become more human these last few months, with all the fighting behind me; maybe that's it. But you are right. Don't worry; I'll handle it. Just like with the tree below, though…what happens in this world still matters to me. And the pain and suffering you'll feel matters to me, too."

Sakura giggled and surprised Kain by embracing him. "Yes…that almost irresponsible empathy you have. It's what I love about you." She released him and stepped back, but lowered her hands to take and squeeze his briefly. "Don't worry about us. We came prepared. It's one of the reasons I brought Minoru, after all." She released her grip and turned back to the stairwell. "Shall we go?"

Kain nodded and turned himself. "Let's go, then."

Minoru, standing silently in the background, smiled at their backs and followed them as they began to ascend at their hurried gait.

Kain felt more than the awaiting power—the sense of wrongness that accompanied the travel. By the time they emerged at the top floor, the reason for the feeling was evident; around them blazed the scorched earth landscape and flaming aura of the Obsidian Star, the same as he had seen the last time he was here, fighting the last final battle. Kain glanced all around to confirm his suspicions. The top floor had been merged with the Prince's former home….

"Yes…it's so that we can properly battle without destroying my new home," the Prince said mockingly, appearing twenty meters in front of him. "Welcome to my home again, Kain Lockeheart. You and your new allies have been troublesome, efficient, powerful…but this is the end of the line for you. I've been preparing for just this moment."

Twenty-four figures, in various forms generally approaching human shape, appeared in the air, surrounding the three invaders. The three of them glanced around at the potential aggressors, and Kain murmured, "So, this is the threat…they're serious. So, how are we going to slip past them, oh clever captain?"

"Just leave it to me," Sakura assured him. "We'll get you through, and keep these from pursuing you. Just trust me."

"Make what plans you like," the Prince continued with a sneer. "You may have bloodied the noses of Sabrac and Sydonay, but you won't stand against this!" He made a gesture of command, and the twenty-four waiting Lords sprang to action, raining attacks and spells down upon the trio. They disappeared in the midst the destruction.

After several seconds the onslaught ended…and there was nothing remaining behind. Then they felt the presences reappear in the air behind them, and they whirled on the source. Sakura and Minoru stood in the air, Sakura smiling, but there was no trace of Kain. "What is this!?" the Prince demanded.

"You underestimated us," Sakura chided him. "We came prepared. I can walk between worlds, and the only one who has seen me enough to negate that power, Ryoko Asakura, has already been dealt with. Kain has been sent on to face Nagi inside the Crystal Throne. Now we'll have you stay here with us until he's finished with his work."

The Prince growled. "Well played…but who is underestimating whom? You are strong, remarkably strong for Soul Reaper captains…but you cannot believe that you could possibly defeat all twenty-four of us, no matter how many lives you have. We'll simply crush you and go over your corpse to find and kill your last little piece of hope."

"Oh, dear," Sakura said, putting a hand to her cheek and turning to Minoru with wide eyes. "He's very threatening; he might be right, too! Truth be told, we probably _can't_ defeat this many monsters all by ourselves, or even hold them off, can we?"

"We probably can't," Minoru agreed dutifully. "It's a tall order for us to take out all of them…even buying enough time for Kain to finish off his prey could be difficult."

"Well, then, we'll just have to call up some reinforcements." Sakura held her sword up. " _Bankai_. Summon the Court Guard, Kami no Yume."

Thirteen simultaneous discs of light exploded into existence in the air around them; then, within each circle of light, the sliding wooden doors became visible and then pulled apart, and twenty-four individuals stepped through those portals and took their stances in the air as the portals closed behind them. Twenty-four Soul Reapers, all in black _shihakushô_ and eleven of the newcomers sporting the white _haori_ as well. Their presence, particularly from their sudden arrival, was enough to give pause even to the aggressive Obsidian Lords.

"A _Bankai_ within a _Bankai_ ," Minoru noted casually. "You're getting pretty terrifying, Sakura."

"Ah, not really," Sakura protested. "It's just one of my _Bankai_ 's abilities…we prepared this all ahead of time, you know."

"Yes, but someone had to say it…."

"What…what is the meaning of this!?" the Prince breathed, glancing around at the sudden arrivals in shock. "This can't be…it must be an illusion…."

"Not an illusion…more like a dream." The Prince whirled at the speaker, who had suddenly moved to stand behind and above him. He glanced up in shock at a _hinigami_ captain in a sleeveless _haori_ with carefully-combed red hair and smoldering blue eyes…a man that looked all the world like a close relative of the Prince's escaped prey. "But in this case, it's a dream that can hurt."

The man cocked his head slightly as he considered the Prince's shocked expression. "…What's the matter? Not used to the look-alike? I admit, it's kind of strange to me, too…but it's pointless to worry about it." He slowly drew his long katana. "None of you will get out of this battle alive; your part in this epic is over."

The captain's statement was like a call to arms, and the combatants broke apart, each one finding themselves confronting another foe…all save one, a woman with still-youthful features despite her silver-grey hair tied in a side tail, wearing that captain's _haori_. She, the odd woman out, watched impassively as the other fights began to commence.

Novann, a creature shrouded by a dull brown cloak over a massive, seemingly hunchbacked form, found a unique _hinigami_ in his path. The Soul Reaper had the appearance of age, with dull grey eyes that nearly blended with his whites, slicked-back white hair and a bit of a white goatee. He wore a white mantle in addition to his _shihakushô_ , not quite a _haori_ , and also had the badge of a lieutenant, this one signifying 'one', on his arm. Thin and wiry, he certainly….

"You do not much give the appearance of a Soul Reaper," spat Novann, a gravelly, deep, and yet somehow hissing voice emerging from his folds.

His opponent smiled slightly. "Appearances can very well be deceiving…particularly for _hinigami_."

"Is that so?" Suddenly Novann exploded out of his robe, the garment practically disintegrating as he pulled himself up to his true shape and size. A muscular serpentine form with two great arm-claws and two sturdy legs and taloned feet unfolded itself, and two massive bat-like wings curled out and unfolded as well. The black-skinned dragon was adorned by thorns, including a massive curved red protrusion that emerged from its torso and curled upward, and a long tail capped by a three-pronged serrated claw completed the image. "I am Novann, the Cyclone Devil Dragon. Let's see how you fare, mortal."

He unleashed a blast of darkness from his mouth, almost like a puff of smoke from an old rifle, but much bigger, thicker, darker, and faster. The old man stepped back easily, however, retreating away and further into the air. "How I fare, eh? Yes, let's see. I would never deign to give less than my all, even in a meaningless battle. I am Hanatabi Tôkirô, Lieutenant of the First Company of the Gotei 13 of the Mistworld. And this is my _zanpaku-tô_. Draw back, Shiroyumi [White Bow]."

Tôkirô's sword changed in his outstretched hand into a bow, and he drew back and leveled the weapon at his foe. An arrow light appeared notched in the weapon as he did so, and he released it, sending a streak of light towards the dragon. The monster batted it aside, but then a cascade followed as the Soul Reaper drew back and released rapidly, without pause. Novann responded by twisting in place as he surged further up into the air, and his motion summoned and hurled a whirlwind Tôkirô's way; the old man stepped aside to dodge it.

"A bow, eh? I thought it was those Quincy that used bows. For a Soul Reaper to be using it…" Novann taunted as Tôkirô reappeared.

The old man smiled blandly at him. "A _hinigami_ 's _zanpaku-tô_ is a unique representation of his soul. Each is different; and their forms and abilities are as varied as the sands of the sea. Do not underestimate mine simply because it is a simple bow."

The dragon growled. "Well…your arrows are strong. But can a bowman slay a dragon on his own!?" He leapt at the _hinigami_ , his spiked tail lancing out at speed….

And Tôkirô caught the tail with his bow and held against the push without budging. "I told you not to underestimate my bow. Even in this form, it is my _zanpaku-tô_ …and a tool I can use to initiate my stances. Normally only captains can use this technique…but I am the oldest and most experienced of the lieutenants of the Mistworld, more experienced than many of our captains." He threw off the dragon's tail and retreated further into the air. "As I've said…defeating you or not, it doesn't matter, really, to either of us. But I will exert my all to that cause, regardless; it is not in my nature to do otherwise. And at my most serious, I am not a single, simple bowman. _Bankai_. Kyûgû Chôhô [Bow Master's Artillery Salute]."

In the air around Tôkirô a hundred massive, semi-transparent ghostly armaments appeared…ballistae and crossbows and siege weapons with no wielders or handlers. "It's fairly common sense, really," he noted. "Bring an army to face a dragon."

8-8-8

A _hinigami_ even more in black, with his neck, head and face wrapped in black, concealing his appearance, faced off against an imposing giant. Eight feet tall, with long, thick black hair, hints of facial hair, ornate and gleaming armor, a great sword in one hand and an ornate spear in the other, surrounded by a blazing halo…there was quite a contrast between the thin and concealed Soul Reaper and his prominent opponent, a fact remarked upon by said Soul Reaper as well. "It is a form of irony, or tragedy, perhaps," noted the would-be ninja, "that I, a shadow-user wrapped in blackness, would be the force of justice opposing the evil, that takes on appearance of light and glory."

The giant laughed, deep, rich, vibrant, his voice a tidal wave, a forest wall, a solid mountain. "You are amusing, little man!" he boomed. "You, a scurrying little rat who won't even show his face, speaks of justice? What of our justice? What of the justice of the Obsidian Star? To assume righteousness in yourself while knowing little to nothing of your foe, and dismissing them as evil…arrogance far too great for such a puny form."

"Justice cannot exist with beings like the Obsidian Star," his foe rejoined. "Justice seeks proper recompense for all people. Those who steal, who take from others, who rob and destroy innocent people and even whole worlds…those with the superior power may establish their own 'law', but that does not give their actions 'justice'. Many individuals seek to hide their sins with cloaks such as 'personal justice' or 'personal code', mantras like 'it is my life, my opinion, my beliefs'. The wicked always conceal their wrongs with garments thicker than those I use to cover my face. But hiding it does not change its nature, it does not alter its chemistry. We _hinigami_ exist to preserve existence, both life and afterlife, of all the innocent…of all people we can protect. Creatures like you are no better than hollows, and we gladly face you. We will destroy you and restore peace to the people of this world."

The giant sneered. "You still talk big for such a little man." He pointed his spear at the black-clad man. "You say _'shinigami'_ but are you not dressed like one of those ' _ninja_ '? Assassins, spies, blackguards and cutthroats…you would speak of justice when you portray yourself as a lawless, honorless rogue?"

"Yes…it is true that I have a bit of a fascination with the _ninja_ of ancient Earth. But the _ninja_ I know are somewhat different than you know them. _Ninja_ had their own honor, their own code. Usually they were actually well-established and used extensively by the aristocracy, their partners, not their enemies. Even so, the _ninja_ I honor are the silent guardians of justice, those dedicated shadows who sacrificed all, even their sense of self, in order to protect justice. I am Harutome Sôichi, lieutenant of 2nd Company. In the old Gotei 13, the 2nd Company was largely the property, the extension of, the _Onmitsukidô_ , the Secret Remote Squad. I honor them as well, all they worked and sacrificed for the good of the Seireitei. I felt, as a leader of this Company and as a wielder of shadows, that it was my duty to be their symbol." He held his blade up in front of his face in salute. "Darken, Kageri [Shade]."

The sword transformed, flickering and wavering out as several undulating tendrils of shadow. The giant sneered at it. "Is that so? Then you may honor them by dying in their name. I am the Radiant God of Creation, Parkz. Feel my spear." So saying, the man hurled his weapon, which lit up with a golden blaze as it sailed towards its target.

It came in so fast that Sôichi could not dodge it. He caught the weapon with the tendrils of his dark sword, but although they ensnared and wrapped around the weapon, they could not halt it or its blaze, and he went flying backwards. He blasted through several mounds of rock and stone and finally hit the harsh, blasted land behind it. In an instant Parkz teleported to his spear, appearing in a swift materialization with his hand already around the haft, and raised his sword above his head. He brought it down….

And it impacted against almost a solid sheet of blackness that rose from Sôichi's sword. He held the spear, just under its ornate head, and strained against the press, forcing it back. He had not received the wound unscathed…large portions of the right side of him were burned, his clothing scorched away, but there was no faltering in his stance as he resisted the attacks. "So…these are the elite of the Obsidian Star, are they?" Under his face-concealing wraps, Sôichi smiled. "Certainly stronger even than I feared…but I won't go down easily. _Bankai_. Kageri Yamiyo [Gloomy Dark Night]."

And Sôichi was gone. Instead, there was blackness…spreading out under Parkz' feet, filling the sky over his head, slowly surrounding and encapsulating him. He glanced around without concern as the darkness began to hedge him in. "Ah…pure shadow element, eh? You have become the darkness?"

 _'Indeed,'_ came Sôichi's voice from all around, distant and close all at once. _'Take heed, lest the darkness consume you.'_

Parkz grinned and raised his spear. The head blazed out brighter than ever. "Take heed? Nay…I shall merely meet a worthy challenge!"

8-8-8

A massive four-limbed reptile, largely green with gold and blue interspersed on its scales and a multitude of thorns, with two curved bull-like horns (with additional thorns) shining brightly on its prominent, shielded head, stared down at the tiny black-clad woman before it. "Who dares think to resist the Horned Fort Dragon, Ouchan?" it rumbled deeply.

The target of the dragon's ire was a Soul Reaper we have beheld once before—average in her build, shining blue eyes, and brown hair tied in two pigtail loops at the back of her head. She smiled up amiably. "Zakida Aoi, lieutenant of 3rd Company," she said politely. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to restrict you from here on."

There was an earth-shaking laugh from the dragon. "Restrict me? Try it, little mouse." The horns on its head blazed even brighter, and then a ray of energy blasted from them towards Aoi.

Aoi stepped backwards into the air a considerable distance to avoid the attack, but the seemingly land-bound dragon was suddenly right there with her. Its great tail came sweeping around to club her and sent her flying to the ground. She bounced, hard, and gasped out from the pain and shock of the impact. The next instant Ouchan came down on top of her, one huge foreclaw descending to crush her, but somehow she managed to step away to safety before the attack arrived.

"You're quick," admitted Ouchan. "But hardly quick enough to make up for the difference in power. Do not underestimate us. We are all both fast enough and strong enough to match and overpower you. Your precious Gotei 13 is already in shambles, your captains and lieutenants killed at our hands…the hands of the Prince's elite guard of Obsidian Lords."

"Well…." Aoi had been kneeling, panting, and now took a moment to collect her breath, rise to her feet, and dust off her _hakama_. "They aren't _our_ Gotei 13…but you should beware trampling on our _hinigami_ pride by admitting to such murders and taunting us with them. We won't be so forgiving as to let you off easy when you boast of killing _hinigami_."

"Ho." The beast rumbled out another short laugh. "Well, then, make us pay. I can sense that others of your comrades have already released their _Bankai_. If you have any wish to survive, you should do the same."

Aoi shook her head. "Unfortunately, my _Bankai_ is of no use to me here…it takes time to develop, more than just minutes or even hours; its power is to prepare effects that will last years. It's powerful, and I'm proud of it, but it can't be used in any kind of simple battle. I may be overmatched here, but all I can do is this. Bloom, Hanabatake [Flower Garden]."

Aoi waved her sword by her feet, and flowers of varied sorts began to bloom around her. The great dragon stared down in sullen shock. "Flowers?" it growled. "You refuse to show me your _Bankai_ , and instead resolve to face me with _flowers_? I will crush you instantly and move on to more interesting prey."

It leapt at her, but she dodged back, and it smashed the flowers she had grown, scattering them up into the air as dust. She retreated further into the air, waving her sword, and petals began to bloom and swirl together in the air. Ouchan jumped after her, showing incredible agility once again as it rose to meet her in the air, swiping negligently through the storm of blossoms, but again Aoi slipped away from the attack.

The cat and mouse game continued for several more pounces, but finally as Ouchan prepared to pursue once more it stumbled, swaying slightly, and seemed concerned as it tried to steady itself. "W-what…is this…?"

"Yes…my _zanpaku-tô_ does little more than conjure flowers," Aoi explained. "But what flowers they are! I can conjure all varieties of flowers, anything I have experience with…and you know, you seem very similar to some of the creatures that stalk the Mistworld. I took a gamble that you were similar enough in chemistry that some of the flowers that affect them would affect you as well, and it seems I was right. Right now, you're intoxicated by this particular pollen. You Obsidian Star types aren't used to being subject to any kind of mortal ailments, are you? It must be very distressing to you to feel such an unusual loss of control…frightening, even, if you can be frightened."

The dragon growled, steadied itself, and slammed its forepaws into the ground, shaking the earth and forcing Aoi to retreat into the air. "Of course, the effect will still be limited on you because of your inhuman constitution," she admitted without pause. "It won't last long, and frankly, my offensive power is weak overall, so I might not even have enough power to crack your armored hide…but since you're my foe, all I can do is try!" And she leapt forward, raising her sword in one hand and preparing a spell in the other.

8-8-8

"Blue Moon Sea Deity, Illifar," the woman introduced herself. She seemed human enough, perhaps far too much so, with her long midnight-blue hair, long white gown, golden diadem and ornate winged staff. She gestured kindly to her foe. "And whom do I have the honor of facing?"

The woman opposite her tensed and paused, trying to read her, a sword on the hilt of her sheathed sword. This Soul Reaper was slightly shorter than average, but somewhat stockier than most of her fellow lady _hinigami_ , particularly around the bust. Her hair was orange-brown and medium-length, coiffed into a pony-tail tied on the bottom-left corner of her head and left to curl on top of her shoulder, and it adorned a surprisingly youthful face. "Kirihara Konoka, lieutenant of 4th Company," she finally allowed.

"Fourth Company? I see…if I recall correctly, you are the healing unit of the Gotei 13…."

"Yes…that holds true on the Mistworld as well as in the original Seireitei."

"How ironic. I, too, am a healer for the Obsidian Lords." Illifar suddenly raised her staff and slammed it down into the ground, causing a wave of water to fountain up and rush at Konoka. She leapt back and stepped up to avoid the wave, and perched, standing on the air, her sword finally drawn. Illifar glanced up at her with a smirk. "But I am an Obsidian Lord myself, with power to crush the enemies of the Obsidian Star."

"Noted," Konoka said softly. Then she was suddenly behind the water-wielder, who turned to block the incoming sword strike with her staff. "And I am a captain-class officer of the Gotei 13…so I, too, can handle myself in a fight."

Illifar pushed off and repelled her foe. She smiled still as she set herself. "Good. I would rather have a worthy battle. I also approve of facing a woman of such strength. Does your _zanpaku-tô_ have the edge you need to truly test me?"

Konoka smirked slightly, just for a second. "That was a very veiled slight. No, my _zanpaku-tô_ is Hae no Suehiro [West Wind Folding Fan], a fan solely for healing my allies, and my _Bankai_ …well, that's a different matter. Those with healing _zanpaku-tô_ are usually relegated automatically to 4th Company…after all, it's where we are of the most use. But I admit that I have issues with pride…I couldn't just let myself be a simple healer, and I had to prove myself as a warrior, too. My little brother is a strong and famous lieutenant as well…but in all our years of sparring and competing, I've never lost to him once. Don't underestimate me simply because I am a healer. I will give you all you can handle with my skills and spells."

Illifar's smile deepened and she made an expansive gesture. "Well, then…you've given me enormous expectations. Don't go disappointing me now…."

8-8-8

A flame flickered, then blossomed out into a great draconic beast, composed almost entirely of flame, with its yawning maw and impressive, antler-like set of horns on its head being the most substantial-seeming feature it sported. "Phantom Dragon, Ultrix," it breathed. "And you, puny Soul Reaper?"

The girl with the strawberry-blond hair, tied into a long side-tail, stood impassively, one hand on the hilt of her sheathed sword. "Miyazaki Yui, lieutenant of 5th Company." She drew her sword. "Strike, Hiraishi [Lightning Rod]."

Her ordinary-seeming _katana_ transformed into a handle with a spike emerging from either side. Lightning immediately blasted out towards Ultrix, who took the streak full in the chest and was forced backwards, but otherwise seemed unfazed by the attack. "Ho…not wasting any time, are you, little mouse?" it growled almost happily as the attack faded. "Let's get right into it, then." The dragon opened its mouth, and a shock of red energy grew and then flashed out. "Mirage Flare!"

Yui scattered as the blast tore through the landscape around her. Flashing towards her without any visible signs of normal movement, Ultrix closed, and Yui continued backwards. " _Bankai_. Kin-Iro no Arashi!" There was a flash of lightning that exploded out from her, and when it returned, her body was adorned by several strange prong-like apparati, two diagonal nodes in particular rising from rods on her back, crackling with electricity.

Hardly heeding her change, Ultrix continued closing. Yui, still holding that double-pointed spike, spun it in her hand and shouted, "Glimpse!" A spark enveloped Ultrix and then trailed a line of light backwards, then suddenly Ultrix was at the line's resting point far in the rear as the light faded. "Static Field!" As Ultrix tried to regain a grip on its surroundings, a circular cage of roiling golden lightning spun to life around it. "Static Storm!" And, finally, it disappeared in the midst of a flashing cauldron of electricity that filled the field.

Yui stared, panting, and watched with disdain as the effects finally all faded, revealing Ultrix largely unchanged. "Impressive," it rumbled, flexing its massive flame-formed hands. "Do you have more than that?"

Yui smiled grimly. "This certainly won't be easy," she muttered to herself. "But I suppose it never is, is it?"

8-8-8

The creature glanced back at the storm. "Quite an impressive display," it murmured. It was a bizarre amalgamation, partly in form like a Chinese dragon, but with horse-like legs and a lion-like mane blazing from its head in partly hair, partly flame, and partly lightning form, and at the end of its long serpentine tail was a similar mass. Two too-small feathered wings emerged from its front shoulders, and the Phantom Thunder Dragon, Yaster, turned to glance back at his foe. "Wouldn't you agree, Tsuruya Hitomi?"

Hitomi Tsuruya wore a short-sleeved upper tunic and had short, indigo-colored hair and deep purple eyes. She panted from her own exertions and the wounds that already pockmarked her form, but her stare was impassive and unworried. "Miyazaki- _san_ 's power is impressive…but it is of no concern to either of us, Obsidian- _san_. My Shini-Ori [Deathweave] should be your only concern." She raised the jagged-bladed sickle in her hand and gave it a punctuating flick with her wrist, causing it to break apart briefly into a chain-whip form before it snapped back into a solid weapon.

The dragon's face seemed to take on an expression of bemusement. "So formal, even with your own comrade? You are an interesting one."

"You're one to talk. Miyazaki- _san_ is a bright and cheerful soul, like her captain. As for me…I am nothing but a weapon in the hands of mine. My only purpose and desire is to destroy the enemies of the Gotei 13. For now, that means you." She suddenly stepped above and to the rear of the monster, her sickle again breaking apart into a flying chain-weapon as it came around to bite into the long serpentine neck of her foe….

The dragon's tail snapped around, striking her and sending her flying. "You'll have to do better than that if you wish to do so, oh aggressive 6th Company Lieutenant," Yaster rumbled. It teleported right behind her just as she was beginning to rise, and lightning suddenly rose up around it in a savage storm.

Hitomi stepped clear of the blast and raised her weapon again. "Even so. _Bankai_. Kurochi Shini-Ori [Black Earth Deathweave]."

When the smoke cleared, Hitomi's weapon was gone…and her whole arm, as well. Her right limb had been transformed into a massive, savage-looking scythe blade. As Yaster stared at it in interest, she flexed her new limb towards the dragon, and the blade shot out, a twisting chain of black light connecting this new weapon to the rest of her body. Yaster jumped back as the blade impacted the earth where it had just stood with a crash, sending up a spray of dirt into the air. It just began to charge another blast of lightning into a nimbus around it, but the chain retracted…pulling Hitomi with it at speed. Just before she reached, the blade suddenly came free of the earth and then whirled around on that chain. Hitomi planted both her feet on the ground and leaned into her new attack, slamming Yaster with the blade and actually propelling the great dragon across the terrain.

The dragon righted itself in midair, flexed its great serpentine head, and fired a jet of lightning towards the girl. She reeled in her blade-arm, it snapped into place, and then she jammed the blade into the ground in front of her. A shield of earth rose up to surround her, and the lightning impacted it harmlessly. The earth fell away as Hitomi rose to her feet. "Fortunately, Earth-Elements, like my _zanpaku-tô_ , are effective against lightning. Fortunate for me, at least."

The dragon hissed…it could have been anger, or a laugh. "Perhaps so…but will it be enough to save you?"

8-8-8

The great black serpent arced its body into a loop-de-loop reminiscent of a roller coaster, for want of a better descriptor of its odd posture. Seated inside this near-circle was a humanoid woman in a low-cut purple dress, with long blond hair tied in two large loop pigtails behind her head. Her long shapely legs and bare feet displayed themselves prominently as she lounged back in her seat, raising them up in a casual manner. "I don't understand, Soul Reaper," she murmured to her foe. "You all are obviously not part of the normal Gotei 13 that we are familiar with. You bear all the signatures of being stranger to this world than we are. Why do you risk life and limb to oppose us here?"

Her opponent, a young woman with short blond hair and a swelling bust but no other remarkable features, smiled slightly at the comment. "We all have reasons for it," she replied, drawing her own sword. "Sakura- _taichô_ 's ability takes us between worlds and returns us just as we were in the blink of an eye, regardless of what happens; we lose nothing of strength or even time, so we risk nothing at all. We don't gain much, either, but still, we all have reasons to bear a summons like this…some like honing their skills in what is essentially a serious sparring situation, some like the thrill of battle itself. Some are able to learn valuable facts from the experience. Some are thrilled for the chance to contribute against evil no matter the circumstances; my own captain probably enjoys this mostly just for the thrill of the adventure."

"Hmm. Is that so…?" The woman shifted her posture slightly. "Well, that's my curiosity assuaged. Now, on to the main event! You face the Underworld Protector, Torbane. You may name yourself before my pet devours you."

The woman's smile became a more awkward grin. "Well…I am lieutenant of 7th Company, Nagato Michiko. And I think your pet will find me unappetizing. _Bankai_. Naraku Shiniryôshi [Hell Deathstalker]." Her sword transformed itself with an explosion into a deathscythe with a massive blade made of streaming, shimmering, rainbow Technicolor energy. There was a definite sense that if this blade cut anything, that thing it cut was reality.

Torbane raised an eyebrow. "Oh? A _Bankai_ straight out the gate? You don't mess around, do you?"

"My captain might like to make games of things, but as his lieutenant, I can't afford to. I know I'm at a disadvantage at best, so I'm going to go all-out from the beginning." Michiko stepped forward and the blade flashed; the serpent's head fell from its body.

Torbane was gone, however, and was now standing behind Michiko. She raised a hand and a swarm of vines rose up to bind her Soul Reaper foe. The next instant the thrashing snake body sprouted a new head and surged forward, maw wide to devour the girl.

There was a flash from Michiko's scythe blade next, and the vines disintegrated. Michiko swung her scythe around in a great arc, and both Obsidian Lord and snake danced backwards to avoid the attack. Michiko rose back up and assumed a defensive posture with a flourish. "Beware," she warned her foe. "This scythe can cull without touching, if I can isolate and overcome its power with my own _reiatsu_. Weak spells won't work on me; don't underestimate this group of _Shinigami_."

8-8-8

Tôru Asamiya watched as the indistinguishable humanoid form exploded out into a wingless blue dragon, water surging around it, crystallizing, then falling away. "Lieutenant of 8th Company, eh? I recall the other 8th Company lieutenant. She was a glasses-wearing woman, a noncombatant. You have a sword, however. I assume you are a more hands-on warrior?"

"A warrior?" Tôru replied softly. "I detest the term. Nobody wants war. No one should want war. But we often have to fight, regardless. Yes, in that sense, as one trained to fight so that others will be safe and free, I am a warrior. But I'd rather be a noncombatant, honestly."

"Tch," the dragon scoffed. "A coward, then? Just surrender your life, and those concerns will go away, then!" The monster opened its mouth, and a surging blizzard exploded forth.

Tôru dodged aside and danced across the air to flank the great beast. "A coward, you say? Only the heartless or the mad desire war. Friends die, lives are lost, sadness comes…it's hardly foolish to desire that there be no war. But I am a realist, knowing that fighting has to make it happen. Fire, Heionbuji [Tranquility and Peace]." His sword transformed into a rather modern-looking semi-automatic pistol, large caliber, probably at least a .44 by normal metrics, and he pointed it at his foe. He pulled rapidly on the trigger as he ran by, and shots of light flashed in on the dragon.

A shield of ice rose up to block the attacks. "It will take far more than that to injure the Crystal Aurora Dragon, Rauml!" The ice fell away, and it unleashed another breath weapon of snow and ice.

Tôru leapt away from the attack and stepped to the opposite side. "Well…probably…."

He dodged again as Rauml's tail came flashing around to strike him. "A _hinigami_ using a gun," Rauml rumbled. "You certainly are a strange bunch. What is your _Bankai_? An RPG? A tank? If you want to get anywhere, you should use it. That peashooter isn't doing the job."

Tôru sighed as he retreated away. "I hate how right you are. We aren't used to immediately coming up against foes as strong as you. It's pretty insane that there are two dozen of you on par with our captains. But we have to fight regardless. Fine. _Bankai_. Heiwa no Hogosha [Protector of the Peace]."

There was a brief flare of energy…but no visible change occurred around Tôru, nothing changed about him or his weapon. Rauml looked around almost warily. "Well? Are you bluffing? Or do you have an invisible _Bankai_? They're supposed to be large…and therefore obvious…."

"My _Bankai_ isn't invisible, nor is it too small to notice," Tôru replied easily. "On the contrary, it's far too large and unwieldy. But there are other reasons you can't see it; because it is so bulky, it can't appear around us. It would be of no use. It's there…just too far away for you to see." He pointed his gun at the creature again, and this time the tiny red dot of a laser target appeared on its skin, almost imperceptible amongst its monstrous bulk. "Fire, Heiwa no Hogosha."

A blast of energy lit up the dark world, a straight beam firing from the upper atmosphere. An explosion cascaded out from the site of the impact—Rauml—and rolled outward, upsetting several of the other combatants briefly in their battles.

"There are many, many different kinds of _Bankai_ ," Tôru noted. "Mine is unique in the sense that it is a satellite weapon, but there are others like mine—one-shot one-kill weapons that are mostly used only as a last resort. Firing that weapon multiple times is costly to me." He sighed as the smoke of the impact point cleared, revealing an obviously injured but obviously still angry and alive dragon. "And so it seems this battle will be quite costly to me…."

8-8-8

"Impale, Senshuken [Champion]!"

The woman's _katana_ transformed into a straighter, thinner blade, and the guard expanded into a fencer's basket hilt. She darted forward in a thrust, aiming for her foe's heart.

The bizarre hybrid twisted away, turning aside the sword easily with one of her own. She struck back quickly with the other weapon, but the Soul Reaper pulled back her rapier enough to block the attack.

"Matching swords with the Crimson Lotus Mistress, Egleice," mused the serpent-woman. This description serves; the naga was, from the waist down a huge red serpent, but above her waist she was a shapely human female clad only in a red halter top and detached sleeves with great bracelet-gauntlets. Her white hair was tied back in a thick, bushy ponytail, and in each hand she held a near-falchion, a wide-bladed sword with a single edge curving to a point at its tip, with the back of the blade painted red and marked with ornate crests. "Foolish, perhaps…."

"Lieutenant of 9th Company, Mashiba Ayame." Ayame was slender, not short but certainly on the smaller side in most areas, with straight brown hair in a short ponytail and green eyes. "Ayame- _chan_ will match swords with whomever she wishes!" She darted forward again, thrusting repeatedly. Egleice parried the attacks and countered easily, but then Ayame suddenly leapt over her head. She turned over in the air when she was directly above the naga woman and snapped out a quick spell, causing blue fire to crash down upon her foe.

Egleice easily dodged aside, then, as Ayame touched down beyond her, her tail suddenly snaked out, wrapped around Ayame's ankle, and threw her aside, all in one swift motion. Ayame bounced and rolled and came to her feet, then was immediately forced to defend herself as the naga descended upon her again.

Ayame beat back the double strikes repeatedly, then leapt back in retreat. "Jeez, totally unfair!" she insisted, pointing her sword at her foe in accusation. "Not only do you have two swords, but that snake-tail is overdoing it! It's totally, totally not fair!"

Egleice shot her another bemused look. "Really, now…there's no use worrying about fair in combat. This is a battle to the death, after all; my nature and build aside, you can't call foul on a deathmatch that is no game."

"Aha!" This time Ayame pointed a finger at her foe, and a sly smile overtook her face. "You said it; there's no going back on a declaration like that, right? So anything goes, and you can't say it's unfair, now. _Bankai_. Sensotsuchô [Captain of a Thousand]."

The plain around them suddenly filled…with at least a thousand warriors, dressed in ornate breastplates with fencing weapons of their own. Each was unique, but they shared the same airy facial expression and all were, without exception, decidedly ' _bishonen_ ', 'beautiful' men—long hair and fine, sharp features, handsome in a strongly delicate way. Egleice glanced around at them in shock.

"Whom do you serve?" Ayame crowed with relish.

"Yes! We serve thee, Ayame- _ojô-sama_!"

"And what is your duty?"

"To utterly crush all enemies of Ayame- _ojô-sama_ , and destroy all ugliness wherever it lies!"

"That's right." Ayame pointed her sword at the snake-woman. "Now, crush my enemy, my loyal soldiers!"

"Yes, Ayame- _ojô-sama_!"

The warriors readied themselves for combat. Egleice grinned savagely. "So…one against a thousand, eh? What fun odds!" With relish, she darted forward to meet the wave.

8-8-8

"Shirahama Koto, Lieutenant of 10th Company." The man bowed deeply, then, after a pause, glanced up at the silent, unmoving woman facing him. "And…your name, milady?"

The woman in question stared at him with unmoving orange eyes. She had short silver-white purple-tinted hair with long bangs underneath an odd crown-like white helmet, and was dressed in a pink bodysuit lined with black and white highlights. Each hand carried a foot-diameter ring. Finally she replied, "Lunar Corona Goddess, Waurel."

"Salutations." Koto rose from his bow. He was rather nondescript himself, dressed in the usual Soul Reaper robe with short, messy brown hair and no distinguishable features, save his teal eyes. "I…don't suppose you'd consider withdrawing without a fight? I am, I'm forced to admit, someone who can't give his all when fighting against a woman…."

He yelped and jumped aside as she hurled one of her chakram his way. It blazed with red-purple energy that briefly took the form of a dragon as it sailed. Almost as soon as it was past him, Waurel materialized holding it once again, and whirled on Koto immediately. "If you are a foolish boor who can't see past mere appearances, I will cut you down and move on. I will immediately pursue that boy and cut him down, for my Prince."

Koto was falling back, and she hurled the other chakram at him. His sword came out to knock it aside, and as it curved in midair to strike him from behind, he intoned, "Twist, Kusariyaiba [Chain-Blade]." The sword broke apart into odd-shaped segments, each connected by a single strand of some cord or rope in the sword's core, and curved around behind him quite freely to block the chakram. It rolled back to its owner, defeated.

"I really can't allow you to leave here," Koto said with regret. "I shall have to hold you as long as possible. Luckily, I'm at least capable of that."

"Really?" mused Waurel without expression. "How will you hold me if you cannot even fight me?"

"I shall show, rather than tell. _Bankai_. Kusari no Amimono [Web of Chains]."

Koto's sword was gone, but he—and Waurel—were surrounded in the air by glistening black orbs, about a meter in diameter. They floated without apparent effort or propulsion, but as Koto subtly moved, so, too, moved the orbs.

Waurel regarded them incuriously. "And what will you do with all these big balls?" she demanded.

Koto grimaced. "Is that intentional?" he muttered, then shook his head. "Nothing much…just binding you." A chain suddenly shot from one orb in front of Waurel towards one behind her; she dodged it, but another was coming soon afterwards. Chains were springing up in between the orbs in rapid succession, and as Waurel tried to dodge them, she was becoming further and further confined.

Finally one struck her, and it rolled around her and continued on its path to its awaiting orb, where it sunk it and formed a bridge between the two; however, at the point Waurel was struck it produced several more chains that wrapped around her, binding her arms to her chest and completely constricting her. With her now pinned, several more chains intersected on her and began to wrap her up even more.

"So, a master of bondage," Waurel murmured, causing Koto to wince again. "And you think these chains alone will hold me?"

"Hold you? That's not their purpose. Explode, Kusari no Amimono."

The chains gripping her suddenly erupted in a fountain of power, creating a blinding flash of light. When it faded, Waurel was alighting upon the ground, freed of chains but burned and singed, with good portions of her outfit burned away. She turned her first real expression, a glare that seemed really to hold little more than annoyance, Koto's way.

Koto sighed. "Well, but it's still going to take more than that, isn't it? But at least I will hold you up for a time…."

8-8-8

The man swung his sword into a standard _kenjutsu_ ( _zanjutsu_ ) ready stance. "I am Kirihara Ichirô, lieutenant of 11th Company! As per our honor, I give you the name of the man who is about to kill you."

The speaker was large and strong, not overly bulky, but with an almost perfect warrior's build. His black hair was cut very short, almost shaved entirely, and he had a strange red tattoo around his eye, seeming like a kind of sunburst.

His foe was even more impressive, barrel-chested, broad and tall, made all the bigger by his ornate green-and-gold armor and the white dragon-like beast he rode. His green hair was long and spikey, curving out behind his head in a rush as if wind-blown. He smirked down at the man challenging him. "Truly? Your 11th Company lacks nothing for humor, at least. As an honorable reply, I give my name of Moral Commanding General, Parvier, so that you may know the name of the man who kills you." He brought his sheathed sword up in his left hand and deliberately drew it with his right hand, revealing a sword with a normal shape, stretching out and thinning to a point at the top, but its blade was otherwise composed of bright green light. He leapt from his mount, which disappeared as he alighted on the ground and pointed at his foe. "And I shall allow you to use whatever tricks you fancy. Release your _zanpaku-tô_ if it will help. I wish for this to be a thrilling match."

"I have no tricks or spells; just my sword. Released or not, it's pretty much the same," Ichirô countered. "Eleventh Company is and always has been the proudest of warriors who rely on nothing more than their swords, and even if our current captain doesn't proclaim that as his rule, his own abilities and mere presence reiterate that goal to us. En garde!" And he leapt at his foe.

8-8-8

The Soul Reaper adjusted his glasses as he surveyed his foe. She was beautiful and alien at once—a beautiful woman with long midnight blue hair in a short blue-and-purple dress, bare-legged with ankle-high blue boots, finned purple gauntlets…and several slightly inhuman features. Two jagged pink horns emerged from her head, and her ears were rather replaced by fish-like fins as well, and finally a long blue tail, seemingly half-serpent and half-fish, curled around from behind her. By comparison, the Soul Reaper was quite nondescript; short, carefully-groomed black hair, a thin and unremarkable frame. His glasses and the white lab coat he wore—little different from a captain's _haori_ —were the most unusual things about him.

"I was wondering…" he began. "Ah, excuse me. Pleasantries first. I am Hajime Kohoto, lieutenant of 12th Company and sub-director of the Department of Research and Development. And you?"

The woman smirked back at him. "Cute. Ethereal Guardian Princess, Ver'Tavix. A pleasure to meet you."

"Yes, yes…now, if I could, I should like to ask something of you. Could you surrender immediately and do us both the favor of foregoing a prolonged battle?"

Ver'Tavix' smirk turned into a glare. "Oi…you aren't going to be one of those ninnies who won't fight a woman, are you?"

"Oh, no, that's not it at all, I assure you. It's just a matter of time. Time is very important right now, so we can't waste it in an extended battle. It will waste so many precious minutes better lent to your study."

The woman's eyes narrowed even more. "What?"

"You see, Sakura- _chan_ 's _Bankai_ is indeed remarkably impressive, allowing us to appear as 'dreams' in so many different realities, allowing us to experience all these events and sensations…but we truly are 'dreams', and thus there are some serious drawbacks. We will return when all is over to our original home, having lost no time or suffering any physical ills, no matter what befalls us in this world; but by the same token, nothing we attempt to acquire in this world can come with us. That presents a singular problem to me. You see, you Obsidian people are actually life forms not dissimilar to some of the stranger, more dangerous living creatures that prowl the Mistworld, the kind that are more dangerous to us than even Hollows. I should very much love to acquire one of you for study so that I could develop better defenses against them and improve our Seireitei's security, but as I just said, I cannot take any specimens back with me. Therefore, any research progress I make has to be done right here, in the field, and that will take some troublesome time; and, after all, we won't be here all that long to begin with."

He stretched a hand out imploringly. "Just think about it, Ver- _san_! Your life is already a borrowed item, you know; once the local hero finishes with the final villain, your world here will vanish and your life will be gone without a trace anyway. But I am offering you a chance at virtual immortality! You can become a legacy to the security and glory of the Gotei 13, a contributing factor to our mastering of these evils that beset us! It is such a better outcome than a pointless and painful struggle to the death between us, don't you think?" He looked at her imploringly, hopefully.

Ver'Tavix' expression was unchanged. She cupped her hands together in front of her chest. "Dance of the Rising Dragon," she intoned low, and a blue orb of power swelled into existence between her hands.

She hurled it at Kohoto, who leapt back into the air and away from it. "Oh my," he murmured to himself. "And I did try so hard to connect with her and respect her in a meaningful, human way, just as my captain tried to teach me; what was off about my offer?" He glanced back over his shoulder as his foe appeared behind him and reluctantly pulled his sword. "Operate, Kenzan [Tool]."

The bottom of his blade sprouted multiple simple steel appendages, which moved quite agilely to block Ver'Tavix' attempted attack. He made his own counterattack, but she repelled the strike easily and knocked him down to the ground.

He righted himself quickly, but Ver'Tavix pursued him with vigor, descending down and attacking him with a whirlwind of limbs in her frenzied, rapid-fire attack. Energy, black and blue and green, accompanied every swing, and Kohoto seemed barely able to keep up.

"If you're going to insult me, at least be honest," she crowed. "You want me to give up because you don't have a chance against me!"

"Well, perhaps it is true that I am overmatched," Kohoto admitted, huffing. "I am a scientist more than a warrior, but don't dismiss me too easily; I am a lieutenant, and one of the strongest twenty-six _hinigami_ of the Seireitei." He made a thrust forward, which she caught easily, but one of the little arms now sprouted from his blade suddenly darted forward and just-so-slightly pierced her right at her breastbone.

Ver'Tavix struck back immediately, but Kohoto fell away and stepped back several times to gain some distance; then, to the woman's shock, he utterly relaxed his guard. She scowled as the anger began to rise. "What; one little pinprick, and you think this fight is over!?" She began to charge forward….

But suddenly stumbled and stopped. Her legs felt like jelly. Her arms were becoming heavy. "W-what…what did you do!?" she screamed at him.

"I am a scientist more than a fighter," Kohoto explained easily. "Kenzan is not much of a weapon, but it is perfect for my purposes…a multi-use tool capable of many other feats, most particularly the delivery of drugs. When it comes to combat, of course, simple is usually best, you see, so it's nothing more than a mere paralyzing poison perfectly specialized to your bio-chemistry."

"Perfectly specialized…but you couldn't possibly know any of that! You just got here…I've never faced you or any of your people before…!"

"Yes…to that, you have Sakura- _chan_ to thank," Kohoto replied easily. "You see, her _Bankai_ doesn't just drag us here willy-nilly. It imprints in our minds a general knowledge of the situation into which we are wading, commensurate to our own intelligence and information-gathering capabilities. In other words, the smarter and more studious we are, the more we'll know about the situation when we arrive. General information comes easily to all of us—that you are the Obsidian Star, demonic world-consuming parasites, having stolen the life and legacy of the son of the hero, Kain Lockeheart, and that he must eliminate the artifact held by your peer, Nagi di Artai, in order to return to his original destiny. But I know a great deal more than that. I would estimate that Sakura- _chan_ 's _Bankai_ installs about an hour-and-a-half's worth of knowledge into us; and in an hour and a half, I would have studied which particular foe I was facing quite intimately and prepared the necessary countermeasures for them. This poison is from Aoi- _chan_ 's plants, which I have harvested, and which have proven useful for subduing those similar creatures, your kin, of which I've already spoken. It was a simple manner, in the ' _Bankai_ preparation state' or whatever you want to call it, to adjust it specifically for you. Of course, you are powerful and quite unique, so this much poison won't affect you too much more for much longer. Luckily, I've been spending my time wisely, preparing a follow-up." He stepped back up to her, and the flexible prongs on his sword suddenly snapped out into arms which grabbed the woman around the wrists and ankles and hoisted her into the air. Two more emerged and snaked out to prick on the back of her neck. Oddly, she felt no pain. "Now that you're subdued, you can become my valuable specimen," he continued gently. "Of course, I am not a cruel man; this paralysis drug is also a powerful anesthetic; you no longer have a sense of pain, and will lose consciousness very quickly. You won't wake up again, of course, but not to worry, you see; you will become a lasting part of our Seireitei's security. _Bankai_. Jikkenshitsu [Laboratory]." Ver'Tavix stared in airy wonder as the drugs began to take hold of her, and she saw the white table unfold behind Kohoto with the numerous arms and instruments rising up above him to loom over her. "Now…let us begin collecting our data…."

8-8-8

The great beast loomed above him, a red tyrannosaurus rex with blazing wings on its back. It stared down at the black-clad Soul Reaper with the blue-green hair tied in a high bushy ponytail. "Mortals like you make me queasy…unless you're in my stomach," it rumbled. "Come, and let me consume you so I can find tastier prey…."

"Remarkably, I believe I'll have to pass," the man returned mildly. "Lieutenant of 13th Company, Kamiya Kashin. I'm rather taken with the idea of being a Dragonslayer."

"Ho…you think to slay the Grand Firedragon, Auldice? Try your best, puny Soul Reaper!" It inhaled and breathed a blast of fire down upon its foe.

"Stop, Gintate [Silver Shield]." Kashin's sword transformed into the more defensive alternative and he ducked under it. It received the fiery wave without flinching. When the blast abated, he glanced up from behind it. "Wow, that's hot…you're worthy of the name dragon, for sure. I'll need more than a shield to slay a dragon. _Bankai_. Kinkôtetsu [Gold Armor]."

Kashin was suddenly covered by an ornate golden armor…which, to an average anime _otaku_ from 21st-century Earth, would have looked more like a man-sized golden Gundam, still armed with a round shield. As the dragon surveyed him curiously, various small protrusions on his body suddenly opened, and two dozen tiny missiles flew out to impact the dinosaur-dragon all over its body.

It cried out and stumbled away, and Auldice glared down at the ant that had so injured it. "What kind of armor has weapons like that!?" it demanded with a roar.

"Well, mine." He reached over his shoulder and pulled…a beam saber, of course. "And more besides. Let's go!" And he leapt up to meet his foe.

F I N

 _Author's Note: Together at Last! Shinigami Rush!_

 _My titles, and, yes, even these subtitles in my author's notes, sometimes have very random origins and meanings._

 _In any case, I had planned to have Sakura bring in her posse for some time, but again, I wasn't sure when I did the original planning just how much time I'd want to devote to meaningless side-battles like this. But as I noted earlier, I've blazed through Act 18 a lot more quickly than I intended, or at least with a lot less content in the early portions, so the battles are all we have left. I need, essentially, filler, and the openings of all these fights work well (but not the finishes; for several reasons, particularly because they are essentially meaningless, I am not showing too many battle conclusions)._

 _The inspirations for these warriors and their_ zanpaku-tô _come from many sources; largely they are from my own imagination, the characters, at least, but their weapons in particular have many inspirations. And I'm sure anyone who is a real expert at Japanese will likely wince at these butchered Romanji names I've cobbled together, but they are_ hinigami _and have to have Japanese_ zanpaku-tô _, so I'm doing my best. They're fine for my purposes, at least._

 _The first lieutenant, like his counterpart in the original Bleach, is one of the oldest_ hinigami _of this world, older than most of the other captains, but entirely dedicated to being the right-hand man of his captain, whom we will meet next chapter. A bow was a good semi-ironic weapon that hadn't been really used in Bleach yet; for a_ Bankai _, an artillery configuration was ideal._

 _There is no real Onmitsukidô, Secret Remote Squad, in the Mistworld Seireitei, but the history of their old home was taught prominently by the old guard that came over, so those in the 2_ _nd_ _Company know its history. Sôichi is a young man obsessed with them and the Japanese_ ninja _, their spiritual, ah, whatever, cousins, and so he dresses like one. Aiding his_ ninja _attitude is his darkness-based_ zanpaku-tô _._

 _Sakura's aide had been introduced lightly before, but now she gets to fight. She has a flower-based_ zanpaku-tô _…in fantasy genres, plants can be a lot deadlier than most people think…._

 _The 4_ _th_ _Company remains healers, and so the lieutenant is a fighter who is also a dedicated healer. Her brother she mentions is 11_ _th_ _Company lieutenant Ichirô, a dedicated fighter; and, as she professed, she's actually stronger than him, so she can't be underestimated. Her released sword is a healing fan (originally two, but I realized that would make it a dual-_ zanpaku-tô _, which I don't want any more of than what I've already handed out since they're so rare) named after one of Konoka's healing fans of the original Negima._

 _Yui's lightning powers are based on the DOTA 2 Hero Disruptor's unusual and very interesting lightning abilities._

 _Hitomi is the token_ kuudere _[ice-cold exterior over a warm heart] female. Her weapon is based on the Soul Calibur 3 Create-A-Soul weapon 'Sickle', and her_ Bankai _was a frantic drummed-up extension of that._

 _And with Michiko, I just wanted a Deathscythe. Michiko is the lieutenant for Sakura's younger brother, the youngest captain, whom we will meet in more detail next chapter; but this boy, unlike his original equivalent, Tôshirô, is flamboyant, hotheaded, and still somewhat childlike, and Michiko is often exasperated dealing with him. Despite the age difference, I always wanted to portray a romantic connection between the pair that would grow as the boy slowly 'ages', but of course that can't come out in these little cameos. But since Sakura and her brother would be the 'stars' of their stories, Michiko, the dutiful lieutenant, would also feature prominently. Yeah, and basically I just did a deathscythe for her weapon. Deathscythes are very impractical weapons, but they're cool._

 _Tôru also has more depth that can't come out here. A childhood friend of his captain—Minoru—he was always friends with (and even in love with) Minoru's sister. Her death affected him perhaps even more than it did Minoru, and he's now a somewhat reclusive, pessimistic and negative man, and he hates war and battles, since he's experienced firsthand the worst war can do in taking away loved ones. His weapon is another unusual Soul Reaper weapon I wanted—a gun—and for the logical follow-up, since Soi Fon already had a missile launcher, I decided, why not? Just give him the Satellite Cannon (Ion Cannon Charging…!)._

 _Ayame is the quirky comedy relief, a romantic girl obsessed with the Japanese BL (Boys' Love – Yaoi) craze who reads BL manga all the time (don't ask how she gets her hands on them). A_ Bankai _consisting of an army was an appealing power to hand out, and Ayame's army of_ Bishonen _warriors was the best way to hand it out in my group._

 _Koto's_ shikai _is basically Ivy's weapon from the Soul Calibur series (yeah, I love many of the weapons they use—hints of them are elsewhere, such as Erika's_ naginata _essentially being inspired by Seong Mi-Na). His_ Bankai _, on the other hand, is just something I came up with._

 _Again, 11_ _th_ _Company was one with a rather specific niche in the original that I decided to replicate here—the fighting fool warrior unit. It makes sense since their captain—the_ Shinigami Superhero _, Ichigo Kurosaki—is someone who never really has had any workable power apart from his sword. As Ichirô noted, he doesn't encourage crazed fighters like Kenpachi did, but while the fact exasperates him, he's attracted a following of would-be swordsmen worshipers who line up to join his company._

 _Kohoto is like a cross between Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Sheldon Cooper, which description might be enough to cause many weak-hearted souls to faint, but I swear, he's not quite that bad...and he's rather unlike them in many ways, too. Like Mayuri, he's obsessed with his research and a scientist first and foremost, but unlike Mayuri, he does have consideration for others, and despises needless cruelty. He honestly believes science should be used to better the Seireitei, although, as it was shown here, he has no qualms about dissecting near-humanoids as part of his research. It's part of his Sheldon nature, not being able to connect with normal people on an emotional level due to his extreme intellect and focus; unlike Sheldon, however, he does want to try to learn a little about how others feel and act like a normal human, but he's not good at it._

 _And Kashin Kamiya bears the same name as the school of swordsmanship practiced by Rurouni Kenshin's Kaoru. I don't know if this was intentional or not—that is, I don't remember when I made his name if I was actually thinking of the 'Kamiya Kashin' school and decided to use it specifically because of that. In any case, a Gundam Suit was another_ Bankai _idea I had and used. Otherwise, for being the lieutenant of the mysterious 13_ _th_ _Company Captain, Sakura's father, he doesn't have a lot of depth or uniqueness._

 _And the enemies I pulled out here were actually drawn from my Puzzle & Dragons game on my phone, some of the big creatures I've been collecting and evolving currently. Yeah, when I'm reaching for inspiration, I'll pull from all sources quite shamelessly, especially since, to me, it's more homage than anything…._

 _Well, moving on, we'll finish up with the captains in even more brief battles, and then hit the finale…Kain gets his hands on Nagi…._


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Eight: The Captains and the Confrontation

It was a horrible-looking monster; a purple-blue dragon with six necrotic bat wings, two red dragon heads on its shoulders breathing blue flame, and a sickly green flame that seemed to comprise its chest, in addition to the usual uniquely horned dragon head and spiked tail. The Soul Reaper facing it, however, simply dodged its many strikes and attempts to attack her.

She was a beautiful woman, with deep purple eyes and long, flame-colored hair. Her face did not betray any violent emotion; measured, neutral consideration dominated her expression as she flitted about, avoiding tail strikes, wing beats, bursts of flame and snapping jaws and claws. Her white coat carried the bizarre loop-cornered concave square design of the Mistworld Gotei 13 over the _kanji_ for 12.

"You little mouse," hissed the bizarre dragon. "You will pay for disrespecting the Immortal Dragon, the Cursed Wyrm Pryam!"

"Based on your power and attack patterns, I find that a little unlikely," the woman replied. "The power you wield is impressive, but you are not up to a captain's level. At least, not one of our captain's levels."

The beast hissed in anger…and speared the woman from behind with an agile motion from its long, deadly tail. The apparent corpse only lingered for a brief moment before it was merely a white coat impaled on the tail's spike. The dragon made a strange sound that was perhaps puzzlement.

" _Utsusemi_ is a technique most of the captains can employ," remarked the woman from behind him, now clad on her upper half only in a sleeveless, skin-tight bodysuit. "And I have a few of my own as well. Shine, _Benihoshi_ [Crimson Star]." She drew her sword as she commanded its release, and it transformed into a thicker-bladed sword with a rather round tip, black and with a glowing edge of red completely surrounding it.

The monster hissed again and fired another blast of blue flame from its left shoulder her direction. She made a swift gesture with her sword, and a red cube of energy appeared around her. The flame struck it and dispersed uselessly.

"More petty tricks? Just burn!" Howling, it turned and fired blasts of flame from all three of its heads.

The Soul Reaper made another gesture and the cube changed shape to form a star-like shell or shield just in front of her. This time the flames struck the field and rebounded, blasting their original sources instead.

The dragon coughed, sputtered, and roared, and immediately leapt at its foe, claws and tail swinging as well. She ducked the claw and attempted to parry the tail, but the force of the blow sent her flying. She righted herself in short order and gave the beast another searching stare.

"You are made of some pretty tough stuff," she said finally. "It'll take a little more to bring you down. It seems dear Kohoto- _kun_ has found another toy to study; personally, the only living thing I'll work on is myself." She reached up and put a hand near the top of her forehead. "Of course, some experiments work out better than others." She pulled down, and a white skull-like mask suddenly materialized over her face.

The dragon stared, recognition prickling at the back of its mind as the _reiatsu_ and presence of the woman changed and intensified. "What…are you…?"

"Hirai Yukari, Captain of 12th Company and Chief of the Department of Research and Development." The woman's voice was hollow, echoing, multi-toned and resonating now. She raised her sword, which began to glow brighter and shine a deep red, and then she made an exaggerated slash, causing a wave of red energy to descend upon her foe.

8-8-8

There was something about the man. He was tall and imposing, not overly thick or bulky—his overall build did seem Eastern, Oriental—but he was wiry and his muscle-tone was well-defined, a fact apparent even with his white _haori_ over his black _shihakushô_. It wasn't in his short, messy orange hair or his brown eyes, or even in his strange two swords he carried, one over his back and the shorter at his waist, with their lack of ordinary guards and odd handles, not to mention over-sized butcher blades. There was something in his presence, something in his aura that was disconcerting, more significant even than the other impressive auras around them.

"You sure about this, old man?" the Soul Reaper asked softly. "I'm really not one for beating up on the elderly, so if you want to withdraw, I won't fight you."

The old man smiled. Both his white suit and his exotic white cape with its high, sorcerer-style collar were lined with fancy gold trim, and his brown-and-grey hair stood out spiked from his head completely out of the way of his slightly-pointed ears. He also sported a much grayer mustache and carried a staff that ended in clockwork cogs in his hand. "Old I may be to you; I was old when your world was born, and will be young when your last stars wink out. A pup like you, not a speck in the great loom of time, will hardly be of notice to me, despite your prominence."

"Is that some sort of description of how your race lives, or a description of your powers?" the younger man sighed. "I'm not built for riddles like that; save 'em for Ronnie. But if you want a fight…." He drew both his swords. "Then I'll fight you. It's what I'm here for, after all. Captain of the 11th Company, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Space-Time Sorcerer, Orzan." He extended his staff. "Don't hate me for this, young one, but you were doomed the minute you set foot in this arena." The cogs spun and light in the form of magic circles and clock faces appeared in the air around Orzan. Energy immediately formed around Ichigo, encapsulating him, pressing in on him, containing him in a field of Space-Time Mana. "Break Time," Orzan intoned. "Within my Space-Time Light Clock, you are compressed and re-written from the folds of your existences in the universes. You are subjected to the length of moments and the shortness of years, the greatness of the mote and the nothingness of the galaxy. When your body and mind have finished their impossible journeys, the weakest components found in your infinite possibilities are returned to this spot, incapable of resisting…."

Ichigo swung his main-hand sword, and the power shattered. It was not dispelled, as it would be from Mai's 'Magic Cancel' or even the anti-magic of Hinagiku's Shirozakura, but it was simply overpowered; Ichigo's _reiatsu_ was in that swing, and it blew away magic that was simply unable to even begin containing it. Orzan stared, wide-eyed, completely at a loss. "I-impossible! My power destroyed…by brute force…there is nothing in the universe with such power…!"

Ichigo raised his main sword above his head. "I'm not sure how impressive it really is, but you've just found one thing." And he brought his sword down.

8-8-8

Red cape with diamond-pattern edging, a red top hat that opened into a yawning maw, a strange blue briefcase and a monocle…it was impossible to pin any singular word or description to the appearance of the smiling blond-haired man, besides perhaps 'bizarre'. He studied the _hinigami_ facing him intently. "You look quite familiar. Who are you, Soul Reaper?"

His opponent was dressed in a sleeveless version of the white coat, with spiky white hair tied in back in a short pony-tail and a silken, white-trimmed ice-blue scarf. "Hitsugaya Tôshirô, Captain of 10th Company."

"Hitsugaya Tôshirô…truly!" The eccentric man began to laugh. "Well, how strange! You do indeed have the appearance, although you seem older than I recall. You were just a boy, after all, when I killed you not too many weeks ago. This is…that other strange girl's 'dream', hmm?"

"You can call it a dream, if you like." Tôshirô drew his sword. "For you, it's a nightmare. Don't go thinking that I'm the same as the boy you killed. I left that boy behind centuries ago."

"Truly…well, not many get a second chance at the Red Sky Wizard, Xzart." The man fingered his top hat and the toothy mouth in its middle began to spew fire, which orbited Xzart in a pattern. "Let's see if your ice lasts any longer this time…and we'll see who's living a nightmare." The flame then roared towards Tôshirô with nary another gesture from Xzart.

Tôshirô swung his sword almost negligently, and ice overtook the flame…and froze it solid. Xzart's smile dropped as he stared at the phenomenon, for his flame was indeed still visible, frozen within the stars of ice that had formed in the path of Tôshirô's swing. "As I said, I left the boy you knew behind centuries ago," Tôshirô said without emotion. "Back then, I was known as a genius, at the time the youngest _hinigami_ ever to be promoted to a captain, but my power was still immature, as I was still a boy. But now I've had many centuries to mature and increase my power, and I've had to endure battles and test my strength in combats that dwarf even this grand struggle. This time, you will be the one not making it out of here alive."

8-8-8

"Aqua Spell!"

"Flow, Ryûsui [Flowing Water]."

The two blasts of water met and canceled each other out.

"Well! Not bad!" laughed the Obsidian Lord. She was a woman with silver hair that became ice-blue at its tips, short and with a strand of errant bangs that cut across in manner quite like Mai's. She wore thigh-high boots that went just up past her knees and a 'dress' that started at her chest and went down to barely touch her thighs, but she also sported a voluminous off-the-shoulders blue cloak with ice-blue fur lining and gold edging. She wore glasses as well, and a grand blue witch's hat with a huge sharp blue gem at its floppy tip, and carried in her hand a short but expansive rod of gold and blue crystal, with its tip a winged draconic shape cupping a free-floating blue orb. "I'm the Pure Water Sorceress, Heravox, but call me Hera for short. I'm rather impressed that you can match Water Spells with me."

Her opponent sported only blue eyes, and was in the unimpressively unoriginal _hinigami_ captain's outfit of black with white _haori_. She had long blond hair tied in a ponytail and a gold-crested white headband on her forehead. Her transformed sword she held in her hands was a Western-style two-handed sword with a gold crossguard and a wavy shape to its blade. "Captain of 9th Company, Runame Sharin," she introduced herself. "If it comes to just water, my _zanpaku-tô_ is the strongest in the Soul Society."

"Well, if you're a captain, I would imagine so," Hera replied. "I can't imagine there are too many more Water-Type _zanpaku-tô_ amongst your captains."

"Well, there are two ice and…technically one more water."

"…? Technically…?"

"It doesn't matter." Sharin snapped her sword down and returned it to the ready position. "Since we're both using water, this battle might just be a prolonged stalemate, but we're here…let's give it our all."

"That's fine with me…."

8-8-8

The next Obsidian Lord could have been nearly Heravox' twin. Her dress was the same, only green instead of the predominant blue, with a wooden rod and long brown hair. She smiled at the foe across from her. "Oh…aren't you a little cutie! You look pretty familiar, though…like you're related to that Kalan Lockeheart…."

The boy smirked. He wore a captain's _haori_ , sleeveless, but was short and indeed seemed quite young, no more than twelve at the oldest. Two swords hung across his back, seemingly identical. And, as the woman noted, he looked quite like the several other redheads in attendance, with deep blue eyes and largely unkempt red hair a little on the shaggy side. "I guess you could say I'm related…couldn't say if it's distant or not. I'm Captain of 7th Company, and usually they call me RJ, or rather 'Aru- _kun_ ' since they all speak Japanese."

"How precious! Well, I'm the Sacred Tree Sorceress, Altaune." She extended her staff. "Want to play with me for a little while?"

"As you like. But I warn you." The little captain drew his two swords. "Despite my appearance, I play pretty rough."

"Well, let's go, let's go! Sprout and bloom!" Altaune waved her rod, and vines and branch-like wooden extensions sprang from the black earth, streaking towards the little captain.

"Freezing wind of the North, meet the blazing wind of the South. Hyôho no Sôbimaru [Twintails of Frostfire]." RJ waved his two swords past each other, and they transformed; his right sword turned red-gold and developed a guard in the shape of a flaming bird of prey, and his left sword turned silver-blue and its guard became a diamond-shaped crystal. Waves of fire and ice flowed out from the swords as they transformed, meeting and destroying the plant life coming his way.

"Eh?" Altaune stared in shock at the results of her spell, seemingly utterly amazed by what had taken place. RJ stepped above her and waved his right-hand sword again, sending a new streak of flame down on her. She danced away to safety.

"But…that's not possible!" she insisted. "No _zanpaku-tô_ is two different elements like that! It can't happen!"

"Well, yeah, that _was_ true," RJ admitted, alighting down upon the ground where Altaune had just stood. "But I have a rare two-sword _zanpaku-tô_ …only the fourth of its kind in either Soul Society, and they tend to be super-special to begin with. Plus, I'm not a normal _hinigami_ …I'm the son of the Hôgyoku, after all. My big sister has the 'dream sword' that makes this all possible; do you really think I don't have something just as amazing?

"But, technically, you're kinda right," he continued with ennui. "It's actually true that even my sword isn't two different elements. Maybe it's a bit of overkill for someone like you, but since we've come this far, I might as well show it off. _Bankai_. Ten-Ô no Kyûbimaru [Heaven-King Ninetails]."

The explosion of power rolled out from RJ…and seven tendrils of light extended from the nimbus that now surrounded him, shaping into pseudopods, and in each one's 'grip' was a solid sword, each one a _katana_ with a unique shape to its guard and a unique, vibrant color scheme. "In truth," RJ pontificated, "my sword is _nine_ completely different elements: fire, ice, lightning, water, earth, wind, light, darkness, and force." He crouched down, readying himself. "Here we come." And he dashed in, all nine swords flashing.

8-8-8

"Keeper of the Sacred Texts, Lokmir," stated the woman with the wild pink hair and the four pink feathered wings.

"Pitch Black Night Princess, Shavage," added the woman with the long blond hair, red bat wings, and two massive purple horns flowing from her head.

"Captain of 6th Company, Kuchiki Rukia," replied the first Soul Reaper.

"Captain of 5th Company, Hinamori Momo," finished her companion.

"I've been wondering," Rukia remarked, turning to Momo. "All this time, I've never really had a chance to ask…why haven't you taken your husband's name? I didn't think you were that independent."

"Eh? Ah, no, it's not that…it's just, a non-Japanese name just doesn't suit me, and…besides, especially now, there are too many captains with that name already, and it gets confusing…."

Their opponents didn't seem too impressed by this exchange between the two lady Soul Reapers, and they leapt to action. "Don't ignore us!" insisted Lokmir, flashing into the air above them. She held up a small ink brush with a stylized wing on its bottom and began to write through the air furiously, creating a stream of archaic script in the air. The letters began to glow, then fired down on the two _hinigami_ like missiles. Meanwhile, Shavage made a sweeping gesture and a purple mass with a great eyeball in its center appeared and fired a kind of ray at them.

The two _hinigami_ broke apart and dodged the attacks, and conjured shields of _kidô_ to block the follow-up. "I apologize," Rukia stated blandly. If any there had been more familiar with the 'real world' versions of the two ladies, they might have remarked that she appeared older, more mature, but, despite wearing that sleeveless _haori_ , otherwise rather the same. Her hairstyle was perhaps a little longer, but the long and largely errant bangs were unchanged, nor had she ever bothered to style her hair in any particular way. She smiled at her two foes. "It's just that we _hinigami_ captains rarely have the opportunity to fight alongside each other, and it's something I've been meaning to ask for a long time."

"You did pick an odd time to suddenly spring it," Momo muttered. Like Rukia, she wore a sleeveless _haori_ , and like Rukia she mostly just seemed somewhat older and more mature—a true adult, and not a pseudo-teen. However, she wore her hair long, and, somewhat unusually compared to her younger rendition, with no adornment or tie—no ponytail, sidetail, bun, or anything of the sort. "I have been married almost 200 years, you know…."

"Well, you were also the unmarried Hinamori Momo for so many hundred years, it was just natural to think of you that way," Rukia replied, drawing her sword. "It's only after all this time that it really occurred to me."

"Yes, some things have occurred to me recently as well," Momo shot back, drawing her own sword. "You and Ichigo- _san_ , for instance. After all this time, you…."

More attacks came fiercely in, and the two ladies dodged again. Upon finishing their defense, Momo concluded, "Well, they are right. We are being rather rude."

"True. We should concentrate on this fight. Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

"Snap, Tobiume."

With swords of ice and fire readying their attacks, the two charged back into combat with their impatient foes.

8-8-8

Despite his humanoid form, the mounted man definitely seemed rather demonic. It wasn't just his ornate black armor, nor his red eyes and the red markings on his face around those eyes, nor the jagged black spear in his hand. Rather, the almost insect-like golden antennae-horns arising from his head were the biggest detractor.

"Divine Flying General, Theraton," he intoned.

The woman glanced askew at him. "Divine Flying General?" she asked in surprise. She surveyed his mount, which seemed too small for him—it was roughly raptor-sized, although in shape the lizard more closely resembled a dragon. A dragon, but, she astutely noticed, one without wings. "How can you be a flying general if you don't have a flying mount? You really should have a flying mount to be a flying general."

The man narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you trying to mock me, girl?"

"Girl?" She smiled at him. She seemed youthful, of a very similar size and build to both Momo and Rukia, with short brown hair tied in tiny pigtails with beads at the top of her head. "Ah, that makes me feel younger! You'll make me blush. I'm Allison Hitsugaya, Captain of 2nd Company. And, yes, I am mocking you. That's my primary job, you see; mocking villains! I punch them in the gut and say, 'Take that, Wench!'" She gave him a 'V' sign with her right hand.

Theraton growled. He dismounted, and his dragon vanished as soon as he had…alighted upon the air. "You toy foolishly with things you cannot understand. I was going to take it easy on you…if I have a fault, it's playing with my food too much. But since you've angered me, I'll be more prone to focus everything I have into killing you quickly so I can avenge myself of your foolishness."

"Sure! Go ahead." Allison drew her sword. "Rise from the ashes, Hô Taiyô [Sun Phoenix]." Her sword elongated and transformed into an Eastern-style glaive with a thin forward-curving crescent-moon blade and a short, straight blade at its back. Flame erupted around the blade as she took it up in both hands. "Flying or not, I'll torch you here. I warn you ahead of time—we have plenty of fire-type _zanpaku-tô_ around here, but mine is the strongest in all of our Soul Society."

"Is that so?" The man readied his own spear. "If you can last five minutes against me, you'll have proven adequate entertainment."

Allison smirked in reply.

They charged in, and the battle was joined.

8-8-8

The man was taller than all his fellows—while they nearly all seemed of Japanese stock, this man clearly was not. He had carefully-parted blond hair and blazing blue eyes, and although he wore the _shihakushô_ and white _haori_ of the other captains, he also wore gauntlets, leg-guards, and a breastplate over his robes. His sword, however, seemed as much a _katana_ —at least in its unreleased state—as any of them.

"Nash Soetheby, Captain of 1st Company and Captain-General of the Gotei 13 of the Mistworld," he said first.

"Extant Red Dragon Caller, Maerk," replied the purple-haired woman opposite him. She wore an ornate helm with dragon-like horns on it, and silver armor that could only be called 'women's armor', accenting her figure and covering far less than it should, seemingly better suited for visual stimulation than actual protection. Of course, this armor is surprisingly common in anime and the like, but even so, how much did it really mean on a creature like an Obsidian Lord…?

Maerk glanced askew at Nash. "Nash Soetheby…that's a rather unique name. I thought all of you Soul Reapers were of a Japanese culture."

Nash smiled back. "Well…it's such a long, boring story; I'm sure you wouldn't really want to hear it. I'd traveled far and seen much long before I became a Soul Reaper, in that world of Mists were the veil between life and death is so thin it's almost nonexistent anyway. Maybe it was just because I had some dealings with their like before. It doesn't matter now, of course. We're here to stand in your way…so my name in some ways means nothing. Come at me as you like. I'll permit you the first blow."

Maerk smirked. "Are you sure? I should warn you ahead of time—amongst all the Obsidian Lords, three stand supreme. Sydonay, Sabrac and myself all have powers that are the pinnacle of the Obsidian Star's strength. Only the Prince, back with his original body, could surpass us. And you would give me even one free hit…?"

"Then perhaps I should also make myself clear." Nash pointed out in a sweeping gesture around to his left, making to include all the battles around them in a simple motion. "All these battles raging out here…I'm keeping track of the _reiatsu_ and magical power levels around here, and I'm sure you are, too. I can't say with confidence that we're winning, but all of my soldiers, even the lieutenants, are at least going toe-to-toe with your Lords. Most of my captains haven't even bothered releasing their _Bankai_. And here I am, their Captain-General. I stand above all of them. I am the Captain-General because I founded this Gotei 13, after awakening as a _hinigami_ , a Soul Reaper, in that Mistworld; but also because I am their superior in strength. I retain all the magical powers I wielded while alive, and now have all the spiritual powers of a _hinigami_ in my 'death', especially in my _zanpaku-tô_ , even if I don't have all their skills. I battled creatures of your level when I was alive when I didn't have those _hinigami_ powers. So, yes, I am sure that I can afford you one attack. It won't matter anyway, but even if you manage to fatally wound me with your one free attack, you'll have earned your victory." He folded his arms. "Go on."

Maerk's smirk deepened, turned deadly serious. "Well, then…if you're sure, I won't hold back." She stepped back, sweeping both arms out wide…and dragons began to appear. Not little ones, but full-size monsters, twenty feet long and more, red and purple and blue and black, a half-dozen and more. They opened their mouths in a kind of patterned succession, and then all released their breath weapons simultaneously. The energy exploded out over Nash, engulfing him, covering him….

And then they faded. Nash stood there, silent, unmoved. Maerk's eyes widened in shock. "I-impossible…unharmed…untouched!?"

"I suppose so. That did tickle." He slowly drew his own sword. "With that, it's my turn, right? I won't finish it too quickly…I'd like to get a bit of exercise in since I have this rare opportunity. Embrace eternity, Shinzen [Divine Virtue]." The sword transformed into a more Western broadsword, probably, to be specific, a bastard sword, four-and-a-half feet long and two-and-a-half inches wide, straight and sharply pointed at its tip with an ornate golden crossguard. "Here I come," he continued, and charged into battle.

8-8-8

"We meet again, Destructive Blade Sabrac," Minoru greeted the heavily-cloaked figure. "You've recovered quite well since our earlier encounter. You really must be quite powerful."

Sabrac was neutral, unmoved for several moments. Then the slivers of light that were his eyes narrowed. "Yes…we return to our battle. I've prepared myself for you…and here, in this, the world of the Obsidian Star, my full power is unleashed, and you will find that I have the advantage." A hundred copies of Sabrac appeared in the air, surrounding Minoru, each one brandishing two swords. "This will not be like last time. This time, I will kill you without fail."

"Perhaps," Minoru replied airily. "I'd be a little more concerned about that if dying actually meant anything, but I'm doing nothing more than stalling now. Still, if I don't want to be embarrassed, I should get serious." He raised his sword. "I'll honor you by committing my full power to destroying you. _Bankai_. Seiken Hinome [Holy Sword Eye of Light]."

There was an explosion in the air behind Minoru, causing several of the closest Sabrac clones to scatter, and a burning, blazing white sun manifested itself. "Seiken Hinome is the most powerful light-type _zanpaku-tô_ in the Seireitei," he explained. "Ronnie- _shishô_ wields the strongest wind-type, and with it all the winds of the world bend to his will to fuel his power. Hitsugaya- _taichô_ wields the strongest water/ice-type, and so commands all the water in the atmosphere as his weapon to become his blades of ice. And by the same token, it's fortunate for you that we are in this world of weak and feeble light, this world of darkness…because not only my sun, but all the light that touches this world is now mine to wreak havoc with as I choose." Thus concluding his explanation, he snapped his sword out, and the sun flared, releasing a blast of light that filled the sky….

8-8-8

"Sydonay- _san_ , it's been a while," Sakura said, bowing. "Are we ready for the rematch?"

Sydonay smiled viciously. "Indeed. I wasn't prepared for someone as strong as you before…but now, I'm refreshed and ready for action." He transformed into his monstrous form. "This time, I'll be fighting at my maximum power. If you have any more tricks in that sword, you better make use of them."

"Ah…unfortunately for me, I used them all back there already," Sakura replied with regret. "My last trump card was actually calling these reinforcements, so it may be a little tough on me from here on. But that's okay. As long as we have some fun together, it doesn't matter much if I win or not…does it?" And she raised her invisible sword as Sydonay began to charge in.

8-8-8

The Obsidian Prince stared across the battlefield, his eyes darting this way and that through the various skirmishes, wincing at the brightest bursts of light and explosions of power. His dream had been restored, but now, just perceiving these battles, his finest warriors stymied and occupied, unable to assist, he could feel his last hopes and plans all falling to pieces once again….

"It's looking rough, isn't it?" murmured the red-haired man behind him. "How does it feel, knowing that the scythe of Death looms above you, ready to harvest you?"

The Prince whirled on the man, his eyes wide with rage. "You! Who the hell are you!? Why do you have that face!? What is the meaning of this!?"

The man shrugged. "I'm the Captain of the 13th Company; I'm originally American, so my name is hard for Japanese speakers to say, so usually they just call me 'Ronnie'. I suppose I'm an alternate universe equivalent of your Kain Lockeheart. Really, to you, I'm nothing; we all just came to answer Sakura's call and put an end to an aberration in the history of this world."

"You…you dare interfere!? You'd do all this…just to doom me once again!? What right do you have…!?"

"Right?" Ronnie's voice was sharp, harsh, and almost brutal. "You're a fine one to talk about rights. Someone like you doesn't believe in rights to begin with. Can you honestly say that you ever considered, for the briefest moment, any kind of 'right' besides the traditional 'right of might'? You have no recourse to say anything of the sort."

He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his head back. "But of course, you have a bit of a point. Here we are, mere dreams, coming into this world and completely changing its destiny. But on the other hand, the whole beginning of this fiasco was an artifact that never should have existed in the first place. Really, we're not doing anything more than making up for that error and setting this world back on its rightful path. When this is over, all of this will have un-happened, and there will be no trace of us; no memory of our actions; nothing in existence that will remember that we ever touched this world." Ronnie smiled slightly, almost sadly. "It's definitely better that way. I love Sakura, and I have to admit that I enjoy her adventures; but part of me feels we shouldn't stray so far past our own boundaries, that there's too much out there to start getting involved in other troubles, when our own world is far from safe and secure."

He sighed once more and drew his sword. "Well, no matter…until the end, it wouldn't do to be the only pair standing around. Meiya- _taichô_ has already bowed out of the fighting, lacking a partner; since I have you, I should fill your last moments with the dread and despair of the doomed. The same despair you've given to worlds unnumbered and souls beyond count. Just bringing a little balance to the equation. Bring all the world to balance, Kamikaze." He twisted his sword in his hand until it transformed into a handle with two four-foot long curved blades extending from either side.

The Prince's face twisted up in desperately fearful rage as he drew his own sword. "It can't be…I won't let it happen! It can't all…end like this!"

"Sorry," Ronnie replied, twisting his double-sword back behind him in preparation to strike. "It does."

8-8-8

Kain burst through the twisting Technicolor wormhole and emerged…inside a shimmering world, apparently a dome of crystal. He gazed up and about at the twinkling walls that encapsulated him in the distance. "Is this…inside the Crystal Throne? Can't say I like it…the sight, the feel…."

He glanced over. Standing in the air, gazing down at him in rapt fear not far from that on his Prince's face, was Nagi Homura. "No…Nagi di Artai," Kain quietly corrected his own mental narration. "The last survivor of the Obsidian Star. You've taken one more thing of mine. I've come to take it back. I've come to reclaim my life."

"You can't!" Nagi insisted, floating away hurriedly. "You can't be here! There's no way anyone, not even you could have made it past all our elite warriors! You…you cheat!"

"If I'm cheating, you cheated first," Kain replied with ennui. "You took what doesn't belong to you…what should be impossible to take. But the worst of it isn't what you've done to me. It's what you've done to this world. Reality shouldn't be toyed with like that. It feels me with rage, what you've done, and what's come out of it. Sakura cheated and pushed us all forward in time so we could see the world of her victory, and we were forced to unwind that moment and redo it; yet you've altered the history of these worlds in a far more fundamental way, completely destroyed countless lives by thrusting this world upon them. It still shakes me that all of this could have happened simply because I was never born in this world. But regardless of my warring sentiments of pride and humility, the truth is this: this world is a rotten replacement, and it all needs to go back to how it was." Kain formed a blade of mana in each hand. "And for that alone, I'll kill you." He sailed in towards the little man.

Nagi fell away. He waved his hand, surrounding himself with a barrier of shadow. Kain sliced through it, but Nagi had already retreated a fair distance. Shadowy creatures were appearing around him and bearing in as he continued to fall back, and Kain moved in pursuit, cutting each one down with a single attack.

"You would kill us all!?" Nagi screamed. "An entire planet, an entire race of beings!? Without the power of our Prince, our dying world will perish in no time! No one left behind can even begin to bridge the worlds as we did! There is nothing to save them…all those denizens, all the citizens of our world, their blood is on your hands! You think you have the right to condemn them all!?"

Kain actually stopped. There was no hesitancy in his stance, but his advance had halted. "Condemn your world? Well, you do know me, Nagi…I'm such a blasted thoughtful, caring person the very idea does give me pause. I worry about everything…even you and your damned, cursed world. The thought of all that blood on my hands is terrifying….

"But it's nothing compared to the blood on yours. The untold number of worlds you've already consumed, the untold number you'd continue to destroy…no, and certainly not the seven worlds of this 'Reality Sphere'. All these billions and billions of people you'll kill, and subjugate, all for your own pleasures…every living being has the right to live their lives and, how should I put it? I've heard a useful phrase for this, 'fulfill the measure of their creation'. All things can and should exist within the sphere of their habitats, lives, purposes, without any fear of extinction. That can be a pretty safe, sweeping statement, I think. But you people…you destroy and consume everything that is not yourself, and, perhaps worse, you subjugate it all and change anything left into more of yourself. Whatever you were before it all started, what you are now is something unworthy of life. You're nothing but a virus now, a lifeform with no purpose or calling but the destruction of other innocent forms of life." Kain pointed his sword at him. "Do I feel responsible for you? Yes…I would not be me if I didn't. But if I have to choose between my life and yours, between my world and yours, between my people and yours…then the only answer I could ever possibly give is 'me'."

Nagi's lip quivered, and with a shout he shot even further up into the 'sky'. He gestured…and a huge crystal appeared behind him. Kain tensed and froze as he recognized the figure he could vaguely see within. "M-Mother…."

"I'll destroy you!" Nagi insisted. "We're still here in the Crystal Throne, and its engine bows to our will! You will be destroyed by your own flesh and blood! Aeli Kanna's power will spell your doom!"

Nagi reached behind him and put a hand to the crystal. However, at the same time a small white form touched down softly on its tip, and the crystal burst to pieces. Nagi gasped and staggered away, whirling around to stare in shock. Kamo fell towards the convulsing body of Aeli, asleep or comatose with closed eyes, and Kamo transformed into his human form. He wrapped the woman up in his arms and sailed backwards, a vicious smile on his face. "Sorry, brat…this one belongs to me. Find your own."

"W-what are you…!?" Nagi screamed.

"I just said, she belongs to me. She's contracted through me. Right now, I can't do very much…but with the power of that contract that's been dormant all these years, I can at least neutralize your power. You have to face the kiddo alone, Nagi di Artai. Good luck."

Nagi didn't have luck…or even another moment. As he continued staring in shock, Kain appeared behind him. He whirled around…just in time for Kain to lance him right through the chest. He convulsed in pain, and, poetically, from his pocket, a small object came flying forth. A small red jewel. It turned over in the air, practically in slow motion, and Kain's gaze turned to it, moving at the same ponderous pace. He raised his other sword and brought it down with all the inexorableness of a glacier and sliced it in half.

A scream filled the universe, the scream of the damned, and a red light seemed to consume everything in existence…..

The door opened and Kain stumbled into the chamber, gasping, his mind reeling. He collapsed to his knees. A searing pain seemed to be shooting though every part of his being, and he knew he was alive, because every cell in his body seemed to be objecting to the fact. He fought against the pain and tried to piece together the information flooding his brain and senses and memories, turn it all into useable facts.

He vaguely comprehended two figures falling to their knees at his side and one hand going (not unkindly) to his shoulder. He could vaguely understand the words coming at him in Japanese. "Kain- _sama_! Kain- _sama_ , are you all right!? What's the matter?"

Kain's vision blurred into recognizable shapes, and he glanced over at the speaker. He didn't recognize the face, but the accoutrements surrounding it were familiar. The pain seemed to be fading, the world and all around it was coming into focus, and he turned his gaze up to see….

Yes! The room was his own, the bed was his own, the….

Oh, sorry, wrong Christmas story.

Kain was in the Secure Ready Room of the Sendai Gate building…essentially where he had, as it were, started his adventure. The guards, who yesterday had accosted and practically assaulted him upon his appearance, were now kneeling kindly at his side, trying to administer to his sudden ailment, and, by all accounts, seemed to actually recognize him.

"No, I'm fine, I…let me stand," he managed.

He pulled himself to his feet, and, seeing he would not be dissuaded, the guards assisted. Kain stood up straight and immediately sent one hand to his shoulder…where it touched the familiar softness of his cloak. "I'm back," he murmured. "It must be…the right one. Everything's really…back to how it should be…right?" He gazed around, smiling at the confused guards.

"Um…are you sure you're all right, Kain- _sama_?"

"What day is it?" he demanded suddenly.

This brought them up short. "Eh?"

"The day! The day! What's the time?"

"Er, it's…still Christmas Eve, same as it was when you went down. Did something happen to the Gate?"

"No, no," Kain insisted, shaking his head violently. Then he threw his head back and began to laugh, harshly, hoarsely, but he couldn't help it. The waves of relief were simply overwhelming him, and he knew if stopped laughing he'd start to cry.

"The spirits have done it all in one night!" he muttered to no one in particular. "Or something like that. I've never felt…I don't know. Sorry, I'm sorry." He finally started addressing the guards. "No, something happened all right, but…then it unhappened, or something. I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine; better than fine. And I'll be best of all, the finest, if I can just get back to the real Mahora Academy. No, don't pay any attention to me. Give me another moment to get myself all sorted out, and I'll be back to normal, out of your hair, and we can all enjoy our holiday properly, right?"

He smiled warmly at the guards, who exchanged confused, worried glances. But as Kain finally pushed past them and began to stride for the exit, with purpose and vim, the guards exchanged looks again, shrugged, and moved to flank him to properly escort him out.

Kain knew the first thing he would do. He had originally been planning to take a train and be normal about it all, but he didn't want to wait anymore; he had to see everyone, see them all as soon as possible. He could teleport as he had when it all started, but he wanted to enjoy himself, too. As soon as he was clear of the building he cloaked himself with magic and took off into the air. He flew, letting the magic carry him through the wind, twisting about and exulting in the feel of the motion of sailing through the sky, twisting over and over and doing stunts he'd never normally bother with. Yes, it was foolish, but, in truth, he couldn't help but feel mad or drunk or something, lost in the rush of living.

He was back….

F I N

 _Author's Note: A Christmas Carol_

 _Okay, so it isn't, but Kain can't help but just get giddy when it all goes back to how it was. Seeing just how wonderful your life was…it had the same effect on George Bailey._

 _As Sakura explained, what happened to Kain was identical to what happened to that man, the protagonist of the greatest Christmas movie ever—in my opinion, the greatest movie ever, period—'It's a Wonderful Life'. Actually, part of the reason for Kain experiencing this is a show I never watched much—Warehouse 13. My family watched the show and I osmosed it while doing my own writing/reading, but I was there for the Christmas episode when the main character mishandles an artifact in the Warehouse that erases his life from the history of the world, just as George Bailey in the movie experienced. He has to track down the artifact and 're-use' it to return the world to how it was before. I actually thought that a similar circumstance would work really well for a fun adventure for Kain (fun for me to write, not fun for him to experience, poor boy)._

 _And so here we are! Even Kain wasn't able to deal with a rebooted Obsidian Star, so Sakura and her friends came along to give him the support he needed. I'm pleased with how the Gotei 13 invasion worked out; I managed to introduce the fighters and show off a few abilities without going too far, nicely filling up the emptiness I was worried about without dragging on too much. Of course, some of my readers might feel differently about it, but I am satisfied. I think I've explained enough about most of the captains already, or their origins are obvious…._

 _Nash probably needs a little more embellishment. As I have reiterated far too many times, I have been a 'story-writer' since my earliest days, and one of my elementary school loves was Final Fantasy 2, and I wrote my own sequel for it, altering it and embellishing it over the years. Eventually they really did make a sequel follow-up story for the mobile phone (and later other platforms, under the properly restored name Final Fantasy IV), but I liked my version I had rounded out, and have tied elements of it into quite a few other stories…and one of them was the character I made for a new party member, Nash Soetheby (named for a pair of my best random Final Fantasy Tactics characters I'd been gifted). A magic swordsman, he began his adventure as a flamboyant semi-antagonist antihero to the party—fighting against the same great evil, but going about it in his own stubborn way—but after his plot fails, he throws in all his chips with the party and becomes an ally of Cecil, Kain, Rosa and the rest. Cecil and Kain had further adventures in my massive multi-story Multiverse I've been writing since the beginning of time, of great significance to me, but I've imagined further adventures for Nash, Edge, and others as well. Nash came in contact with 'variants' of the Gotei 13 before, so when I designed the Mistworld cast, I decided an über-hero like him was a good person to show up to become Captain-General of the new Gotei 13. Sure, I could have just had Ichigo do it—or 'Ronnie'—but I felt neither of them would want the job anyway. Someone like Nash is good for it. Nash's powers, in the 'original game' (that of course doesn't actually exist) include a collection of knight and swordsman abilities from various Final Fantasies, including Breaks, Sword Magic (spells that add elemental properties to weapons for the battle) and Heaven Swords (some of the über-abilities used by Orlandeau and Agrias and others in Tactics). And now he has all those and a_ zanpaku-tô _, too._

 _Well, we're not quite done…we've got a small wrap-up chapter to do, and then Act 18 ends the year and Act 19 starts the new year…and technically the last few months of the main storyline. On we go…._


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Nine: The Wonderful Life

Kain blazed through the sky, low enough and slow enough to not have to worry about side effects or possible collisions but fast enough to easily outpace any trains and with his presence cloaked so that none could detect him. Perhaps his sudden and speedy arrival around the magical lands of Mahora would trigger a few alarms, but if he did, he did not really care…he was back, his life was back, and….

Kamo appeared on his shoulder. "Whew! Quite a little crazy detour, eh? But it's great to be back…."

"Yes…it's so good to be back," Kain agreed easily. His smile quirked. "Of course, I do have a couple regrets leaving that world behind."

Kamo easily leaned forward onto his 'elbows' as he settled into his ride. "Oh?"

"I never did get to say thank you or goodbye to Sakura. Of course, apparently I'll be seeing her once more, for my 'final wish', whatever that is going to be. She's a rather disagreeable genie, you know, granting my 'wishes' without actually asking me what it is I want…."

"Yeah, yeah. She's eccentric. Just like you. I'm sure if you needed to say goodbye she'd arrange it; so what's your other regret?"

Kain fell silent and his smile fled. He took on his…somber attitude, and Kamo could almost feel his melancholy. "Just at the last moment there…my mother…." He shook his head. "Thanks for that, especially. I know…I know how in the end it all means nothing…but…."

"No, it's okay, I get it, Kiddo…I do understand. It's your way, after all. Not to worry. In this world, too, she's well taken care of, you can be sure."

"You're right. Yeah. And, when that time comes, finally…." But again he drifted off and his melancholy seemed to come back.

"Yeah. I know. At the same time…."

"Okay!" In a fashion, Kain forced his cheerfulness to return, but his exuberance came back in honest force as he intensified his aerial acrobatics. "That's fine. That's the future. Now, especially…I have to be so very grateful to live in this present. For now, it's Christmas Eve, a holiday worth celebrating, and I'll be spending it with those I treasure the most. And that is a blessing I can be really grateful for!"

8-8-8

Mai and Momo were walking across the grounds, arms loaded with bags as they headed back to their dorm, chatting about something. Kain didn't know what, but again, he hardly cared; he arrived so swiftly he did cause a slight burst in the air around as he touched down behind them. Mai actually went falling backward, her burdens flying from her arms….

With his habitual ease and grace he turned around swiftly, grabbing Mai with one arm and her bags with the other. As Mai began to get her senses back and register his presence, muttering his name, he shocked her—and Momo—by suddenly pulling her into an embrace.

"K-Kain- _sensei_ …?" the bewildered Momo asked, and then Kain shocked her by throwing the bags back into the air (where they remained without any visible supports) and reached out to grab Momo, and hauled _her_ into a close embrace. The pair of them stuttered and stammered, red-faced, as Kain held them close.

"You're here," he muttered. "You're real…you know me…it's all as it should be." Then he released them, stepped back, laughed, and danced back another step, letting the bags fall from the air back into his arms.

"W-what's gotten into you?" Mai muttered. "Jeez…we weren't expecting you back until the evening, and then you suddenly show up like this, a-a-and…."

"You'll have to forgive him," Kamo laughed. The ermine had been forced to make little climbs and detours over Kain while he engaged in his public affection of the two ladies, but now settled back onto his shoulder. "We just had a nasty, crazy little adventure…and it's given Kain new perspectives on gratitude and a whole lot else. He'll be sane again soon enough…."

"An adventure?" Mai stiffened and her eyes narrowed as the lurking suspicion of Kain leaving her behind once again began to creep up on her. "What kind of adventure…?"

"Oh, settle down!" Kamo insisted, leaping onto her face and eliciting a brief shriek from her as he moseyed over to her shoulder. "Not one you could have helped with. Not one he wanted or was prepared for…but it turned out all right, okay? It's like nothing ever happened anyway, and we're here, safe and sound! So…." He extended a curious nose towards the packages. "What's with the goody bags?"

"I-it's the party tonight, of course," Momo finally managed. "We went out to get our share of it. Even if we've been invited to the Sanzen'nin estate, we want to contribute our part to it as well. We've got treats, as well as Christmas gifts for most of the people who'll be there. Only small ones, of course…we can't afford anything fancy for so many people…but we want to make the most of it." She glanced over at Kain, who had frozen, a thoughtful look on his face. "What's the matter, Kain- _sensei_ …?"

"That's right," Kain murmured, remembering some recent dreams involving that name. "That's right…the Sanzen'nin mansion, eh? So…heh, and I've been outside this world too much recently as it is." He shook his head. "No, never mind. You two…most of the class is spending most of today at their personal homes, right?"

"Y-yeah," Mai agreed. "Caria, strangely, almost never seems to go back to Europe, but except for those who don't really have another home—me, Momo, Alyssa, Miyu, Rei, Erika—the rest all went to see their families. They'll all be at the mansion for the party tonight, of course."

Kain tried to remember all they'd talked about on that score. They hadn't really discussed personal plans with Kain during their moments in class over the past month, except for insisting on his presence at the party this night, but they had discussed it amongst themselves, and he'd overheard a little. He hadn't thought much about it while he was still busy making his final preparations for his Alignment Project, but now that it was done, he was dredging up those memories to examine the interesting information. "Kagome took Inuyasha back to Kyoto with her…that must be a real interesting trip, but I can't blame her wanting to keep an eye on him. Yes…definitely can't blame her…and Delryn, with nowhere else to go, went back to Yokohama with Akari, Kiami and Hikaru, right? That would be an even more interesting situation…."

"But they'll all still be back for the party," Momo insisted.

"Right." Kain shook himself back to the present. "Well, let's get on with it then, shall we? I'll help you girls prepare. I am here, after all…and I hardly want to let you out of my sight for a little while anyway."

The girls didn't seem reassured by this statement, and Mai pouted, "You're really starting to creep me out, Kain." Kain just laughed in reply.

8-8-8

Kain settled down some as the time approached evening, but his glowing satisfaction did not diminish. As the girls began to show up one by one or two by two or even three by three to attend the special party, he greeted each of them enthusiastically and happily. Alyssa seemed surprised and annoyed when he caught sight of her and greeted her with his bubbling warmth.

"What's gotten into you?" she demanded. "You're acting like a love-struck bard or something!"

Kain laughed, then smiled knowingly at her. "C'mon, Alyssa…once again, you don't remember anything? Twice, pretty much in the same day? Tsk, tsk…what a helpless little demon princess you are…."

Alyssa's scowl deepened. "You're really starting to try my temper, Kain…."

Kain just laughed in reply.

Soon after he caught sight of Yuki, having arrived but taken her usual place in the background. As their eyes met, she nodded slightly at him, and Kain realized that this meant that she, at least, knew something about it. He smiled and returned her nod.

They gathered as a class first to exchange gifts and dress up in their stunning attire—the Sanzen'nin family being extremely wealthy and powerful, their Christmas Party was a very high-class affair, and even if the youths managed to make their own corner of it—something likely very easy to do, if the Sanzen'nin estate was the same one from his dream—they had to have the proper appearance. And, naturally, the girls thrilled at the chance to dress up, insisted on showing off their dresses to Kain, and demanded he choose which among them was most beautiful.

"Surely, you jest," Kain returned, his warm joy still burning in his being. "A man walking amongst such a flower garden as this notes the splendid colors and the vivid shapes and wonderful panorama; he may marvel at the rose, the chrysanthemum, the violet, the tulip, and all the rest; he may even recognize the individual luster and the unique beauty of each one. But can a man choose a single flower among them to which he devote his praise and wonder? Nay, but the heart of the poet shall praise them all, and the God who made them, and the creature known as the flower most of all; and thus is my sole misfortune in this garden paradise, for how can a single foolish mortal man select one beauty amongst them above the rest?"

The girls mostly tittered, thrilled at his poetic speech and flattering words, but a few inwardly scowled, wondering if his monologue was closer to the heart of the 'real' matter than he would like to admit.

Finally they gathered into the waiting limousines that had been sent to retrieve them, and all twenty-seven of them were whisked away.

Kain found himself in one stretch limousine with Hinagiku, Erika, Miki, Izumi and Riza. He remembered that four of them had been together in his Sanzen'nin dream last month, when he was the butler-in-debt of Nagi Sanzen'nin, attending…. "Sanzen'nin Nagi- _ojô-sama_ …she attends Hakuô Academy, doesn't she?"

"Mm," Miki agreed casually. "The founders of Mahora and Hakuô were ancient partners, and the schools have had close relations to begin with. Several of us almost attended Hakuô, and Sanzen'nin- _chan_ almost attended Mahora with us."

"You know her well? You're close?"

"Well…not really," Hinagiku admitted. "I mean, all of us have attended parties and the like with her before, but she's just an acquaintance to us, I'd say…."

"Why'd she invite our class to this grand party of hers, then?" Kain asked with honest curiosity.

Izumi giggled. "Why, because of you, of course!" she declared, then continued: "There are a lot of people outside of the school who saw your performance at the Mahora Festival, and Nagi- _chan_ was one of them. She's become a huge fan! She'd be willing and able to invite our whole school if it meant getting a chance to meet you!"

"Yes," Hinagiku agreed with just a hint of annoyance. "Once again, Kain- _sensei_ 's popularity knows no bounds."

Kain actually burst out laughing, surprising the other four occupants. "Sorry," he finally apologized. "That's just…somewhat surprising. I guess it shouldn't be…but, well, my 'popularity' is just something I still can't get used to. Well, I guess I'll have to be a proper guest for her…."

8-8-8

The limousines pulled into a mind-boggling line on the curb in front of the great mansion of the Sanzen'nin family, which Kain did recognize; he also knew that, if the rest of the Sanzen'nin lore held true from his dream, it was one of the smaller Sanzen'nin holdings. The wealth of the family was truly terrifying….

The gates were open and black suits stood on guard, an unusual occurrence but appropriate for the circumstances. The girls, murmuring in excitement, drifted into the grounds and moved towards the mansion rather quickly. Kain actually measured his pace and let them take the lead; his mind, still glowing with a buzz of exultation, was at work again, a quiet contentment, almost a complete reverse of his usual melancholy.

"You made it back to your wonderful life, Kain- _sensei_ ; still getting it to sink in?"

Kain froze, then, after several seconds, turned around with a smile. "Sakura…I wasn't sure I'd see you again for a while. I'm glad, though; I never got the chance to thank you for your help. I never would have made it, never would have come close, if not for you. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you." He bowed to her.

Sakura accepted the thanks with a bow of her own. "It's my pleasure, my whim, Kain; and less than you deserve, after how I treated you at the Festival. And I'll be seeing you again; you still have one wish left, after all."

"Yes, you keep saying that," Kain returned. "Yet each time, you interfere pretty much on your own and say you've granted my wish. Are you really sure you shouldn't appear first and then ask before you grant them? You know, the usual, 'What is your command, my master?' or some such?"

Sakura giggled. "Well, okay, genie might be pushing it, and there's no way you'll see me in one of those outfits. But I'm serving quite nicely as a wish granter…at the very least, I can assure you that I'm granting the fondest wish of your heart. Can you deny that, at the moments I appeared, I did anything less than use my power to grant what you desired more than anything else?"

Kain stared, then slowly nodded. "…Yes. The first time I even called on you; I wanted out of that dream, and you alone provided the escape. The second time, I needed to escape that world and return to my own life. You enabled me to do that, too, using powers beyond my own."

Sakura nodded crisply, smiling brightly. "And when the time comes for your third wish…it will also be to grant the fondest desire you hold in your heart in that moment. Now, I really should be going and let you…."

"Saku!"

Kanade came flying from off-camera and tackled Sakura, who just managed to avoid falling over. "Y-Yûki- _san_!?" Sakura demanded, sufficiently startled. "W-what are you…?"

"Ah, you showed up for our Christmas Party!" Kanade stepped back, but did not release her victim. "Oh…or maybe you came just to try and steal Kain- _sensei_ away for a little one-on-one time between lovers on Christmas Eve? Completely unfair of you, Saku! If you've come back, you have to see all of us, too!"

"B-but…."

Kain stared, bemused and amused, as Sakura was helpless before her enthusiastic classmate's assault. "Hey, you're kinda dressed like Momocchi gets!" she accused her. "Does that mean you're one of those _shinigami_ people too? Are you really her sister or something from another world?"

"W-well…"

"Bah, doesn't matter! You have to come to the party, too! Or else a wonderful punishment awaits…!"

Sakura turned to look helplessly at Kain, who just smiled at her. Kanade had obviously come back to investigate when Kain failed to be prompt in following them in, and even now several others were coming back as well. "Once again you underestimated our class," he informed her kindly. "Since you've been found out, you might as well join us. I'm sure one more won't be noticed in this crazy group."

Sakura sighed, but she seemed less than put out. "Fine, fine. Just…let me get somewhere I can change inside, okay? I can't attend a nice party like this…."

8-8-8

"Greetings to you all," the maid declared, bowing to them and then ushering them inside. "You must be Mahora Class 3-A…and that means you must be their teacher, Kain Lockeheart- _sama_ , yes? I am Maria, Nagi's maid."

Kain smirked to himself. He had expected no less. "Thank you, Maria. We're honored to be invited by the great Sanzen'nin household." He bowed, then rose. "And…incidentally…."

He produced a small colorfully-wrapped package out of nowhere and presented it to the surprised girl. "Happy Birthday," he told her. "You must be…what, sixteen today, if my guess isn't off? Congratulations." He gave his best smile to her.

Maria stared, stunned, nearly ready to panic. "E-eh? A-ah…y-yes…t-thank you…." She tentatively took the package. "B-but…how did you…?"

"I am a first-class teacher," Kain declared solemnly. "I'm always prepared…and I know everything."

He could feel the heat of the mixed stares coming at his back from his gathered class, but he ignored it; he couldn't help responding to the young woman who had so helped him for so long, even if it had all been a dream. Before any of them could comment, the hostess appeared. "Ah? Maria, is this them?"

The small girl, short, blond, with twin pigtails in a bold party dress that in some ways made her look lovely but from other viewpoints rather did not suit her, focused her attention on Kain, and her eyes flew open wide. "Ah! You must be Kain Lockeheart, the runner-up of that incredible Mahora Tournament, right!? You're like a real magic battle-ninja, with superpowers, capable of destroying tall buildings, eating speeding bullets, and outracing locomotives!"

"Yes, something like that," Kain replied without blinking.

"Ah, really here in the flesh! Look, Maria! It's the Mahora Super Saiy**!"

"Oho, Super Saiy**?" Kain replied haughtily, folding his arms and smiling broadly. "Don't lump me in weaklings like those! I still have four more transformations beyond that!"

"Oh! You hear that, Maria!?" Nagi turned to her maid, eyes shining. "Just what you'd expect of Kain Lockeheart- _sensei_!"

"And I butle, too," Kain couldn't resist adding.

"Yes, yes," Maria sighed, Nagi's rampant enthusiasm shaking her from her own stun, and the package disappeared somewhere about her person to be opened in private later. "Now, we shouldn't stand around here in the entrance hall…your grandfather's guests will be arriving soon as well…."

"Tch, who cares about that old man's stupid party," Nagi muttered, her good humor shaken at the mere mention of the family patriarch, but she started away, and Maria bade the army follow her. "Oh, well. Look, Lockeheart- _san_ …."

"Kain, please. I am American, after all."

"Excellent. Kain, and all of you lot, you're going to spend this time with me, all right?"

"A bit rude, isn't she?" Erika muttered as they moved along.

"Like you, her family situation has left her somewhat isolated," Kain whispered back to her. "She doesn't have many friends; at this point, she can just be another member of the class, right?"

"Heh. Yes, I suppose it would be easy to think of her like that…."

Kain caught the attention of their hostess. "I'm sure you have lots of great activities planned for us this evening, Nagi- _ojô-sama_ , but if I may make a request…I'd like us to watch a movie together as a group. In English, with Japanese subtitles, as a bit of a Christmas 'bonus lesson' for my class, but also because I really want to watch this Christmas movie."

"Oh? Really? Well, I suppose it would be rude of me to refuse a request made by a proper teacher," Nagi replied. "What movie is it?"

In reply, Kain turned to Ami. He had requested that she locate the movie for him earlier, and she had checked it out of the Middle School's library, and he asked her now to bring it forward. Here he presented it to the class: "A Christmas movie recommended to me by our own Sanada Sakura- _chan_ , 'It's a Wonderful Life'! It's an older movie, but supposedly has excellent merits…."

Sakura stared at him. "Really? That?" She smiled beatifically. "Are you sure our class, considering, ah, that they're our class, can sit through a movie like this…?"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?" Riza objected hotly.

"I guess we'll find out," Kain replied airily. "I'm sure offering extra credits for a paper on this movie wouldn't get much response, but…perhaps if I offered time at Alyssa's instead, we could pay enough attention to it, right…?"

"Rather sly of you to say that, when Alyssa isn't here," Mai muttered to him; Alyssa, of course, still could not leave school grounds, and thus she and Miyu alone were not attending the party.

"I'm sure she won't object too strongly, and hardly grumble," Kain replied. "In any case," he continued more loudly, "let's watch this movie, and then enjoy the rest of our Christmas Eve!"

And so they settled into an extravagantly opulent movie room to watch the adventures of George Bailey. Perhaps they were not quite so exciting or dangerous as Kain Lockeheart's, but his story did touch their hearts, and Kain certainly did feel a companionship with the man.

And so he passed this celebration of the ending year surrounded by those he loved. It had been an incredible year, and, on technicalities, more than a year of experienced time for him, but what he had gained, and what his wonderful life meant, he now understood so much more than he had before. Trying times still lay ahead…and the coming year would have difficulties all its own….

But, now more than ever, Kain wouldn't trade it.

He wouldn't trade it for anything…no, not even the world.

F I N

 _Author's Note: The Ending_

 _And so Act 18 comes to its close. The Wonderful Life adventure is concluded, the Obsidian Star is wholly vanquished, and Kain's adventure continues into the New Year._

 _Having this sudden party at Nagi Sanzen'nin's was an idea that just suddenly came, and it seemed appropriate and to make sense, and so I included it. Then I thought upon the irony that he was now dealing with a girl who had the same name as the final villain he just had to vanquish. And I also realized that, although he had spent six plus months in the universe of Hayate the Combat Butler as Nagi's butler, we never actually met Nagi in that dream sequence; I skipped over all those parts. So it was good to bring her in here for that cameo, too. Just this cameo; we will otherwise see nothing of Nagi, unless, in the final Epilogue section that will take up an indeterminate part of Act 20 (The Finale), I mention what happens when she finds a debt-ridden young man and adopts him as her butler. But her part in Kain's story is one-and-done._

 _And, as I mentioned, Kain's story here follows the 'IAWL' story of Warehouse 13, and in that episode, when our hero has returned to his proper place and time, he goes to the Warehouse's Christmas party and_ they _have decided to watch 'It's a Wonderful Life', and he flips out in the amusing close to the episode. Kain, however, is…well, not a glutton for punishment, but sentimental and willing and curious to see what Sakura's talking about. And, yes, I had to have Sakura have a little more time with the class, too, before disappearing. Just this night. But it's good to see them all again, regardless._

 _Incidentally, at the end of one Christmas episode of NCIS, Tony Dinozzo declares this the 'greatest Christmas movie of all time', and this author gives his hearty approval to the statement. Plus one'd, and all that._

 _Anyway, that's the finish here. Moving on to Act 19…the beginning of the end…._


End file.
